Uh...what is this?

what is up with the womenz folk walkin around with these Russian Siberian style boots on...you know...the big furry ones. I keep thinking that I am missing the blizzard that obviously happened. I dont get it.

Santa forgot something

This morning, Santa dropped off 2 things for Rylee and Ian that he couldnt get in his sleigh the other day. They found 2 battery power cars ( the type that they sit is and drive like little cars) outside this morning. And wow, Grandma just happened to be here this morning too. Rylee has a Princess (go figure) 2 seat convertible, complete with an actual working radio. Ian has a Jeep, with a radio too. Of course, they have to get the actual driving part down.... they werent doing that too well this morning

Rylee is a little annoyed

Ian is a little annoyed

Christmas 2005

Santa gave Rylee a vanity thingy and Ian got a hand-made train.

Christmas is past...

Another Christmas and all is good. The twins seemed to enjoy themselves quite well. Rylee got just about everything possible that has any connect with princess, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty...whatever. Ian has every Power Ranger SPD or Mystic Ranger thingy possible. They also were fortunate to receive some things from all their various Aunts and Uncles. They got their bedrooms done by Nanna and Papa and they got powered mini cars to ride in from Grandma.

I got a toolbox, a power screwdriver, a power drill, underwear, socks, a cap thingy, Battlestar Galactica DVD, Star Wars DVD, Marshall mathers LP, Batman Book, cool tshirt, Polo shirts, pajamas, a Color printer/Scanner/copier/paper, a pedometer, a radar hatand tickets to the Busch and Nextel race at Darlington in May.

I hope everyone had a great time with family and friends, and i hope to see some of of you this week, perhaps... I will post some pictures in a little while.

finally

finally..power was out for five days...and cable (and internet) a week. All is back to norm now.my mother and brother come tonight for xmas.... then we head to Florence to see jessicas parents, then return. I feel kinda light on stuff for jessica since she has already gotten her 2 major things ( trip to nyc and a digital camera). but its all good. Not sure if I will posta again until Sunday....

Let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me
Let There Be Peace on Earth
The peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.

With ev'ry step I take
Let this be my solemn vow;
To take each moment and live
Each moment in peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me

another year

Today is our anniversary for Jessica and I. I still kinda smirk when I think about people like Dr. Goodstein tryin to tell Jessica not to go out with me, or Jessica's Aunt sending back our wedding invitation ripped into little pieces, or NONE of Jessica's family attending the wedding (except for Ellen and Wes, who had the stones to do what was right and made common sense) or people tryin to tell us (what about the children?, blah, blah, blah...) that it would all end up in ruin. It still sorta sucks because I think Jessica feels somewhat slighted about her wedding day and the fact that people... grown up people, mind you...couldnt stand up to their own parents.

But...we are still here. chuggin along...the ship that set sail with all the people who had a clue. Oh, we've had a couple of people catch a plane and hop on board, but for all those who doubted us, I say they can kiss my ass. And for all of those who went with us...Thank you!

Jessica is in New York with her sister, so I will miss celebrating today, but its all good. I listened to a song today and I thought the lyrics kinda cool, so I printed them out in salute to Jessica, my wife.

Happy Anniversary!!

Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis

You may think that I'm talking foolish
You've heard that I'm wild and I'm free
You may wonder how I can promise you now
This love that I feel for you
Always will be

You're not just time that I'm killing
I'm no longer one of those guys
As sure as live
This love that I give
Is gonna be yours until the day that I die

Oh baby
CHORUS:I'm gonna love you forever
Forever and ever, amen
As long as old men sit and talk about the weather
As long as old women sit and talk about old men
If you wonder how long I'll be faithful(I'll be hapy to tell you again/Just listen to how this song ends)
I'm gonna love you
Forever and ever
Forever and ever amen

They say time takes its toll on a body
Makes a young girl's brown hair turn gray
Well, honey, I don't care
I ain't in love with your hair
And if it all fell outI'd love you anyway

Well, they say time can play tricks on a memory
Make people forget things they knew
Well, it's easy to see
It's happening to me
I've already forgotten every women but you
Oh baby

wow...

2:15pm on Monday. Still no power...still no-one willing to tell me when it will be repaired. I am probably now officially angry.

this must be what hell is like

OK...power went out at my house on Thursday morning. I havent seen any Power trucks or anybody come down my street. No power since Thursday morning. All food in fridge and freezer ruined. House in somewhat of a disarray. My frustration level is probably about as high as it has been in years. I have called and called and everytime, i get a run around. Everyplace around my house has had power since Saturday night morning. My street doesnt. And I am pretty much fed up. I have spent the past 3 days bumming showers and warms meals off of people and I just gave up and stayed at home last night. And I went by the office today and asked them , and all they could do was shrug and say"we're working as hard as we can". But I see NO trucks anywhere. There are some who seem to think I am living some sort of vacation. I am fortunate that Jessica's parents are off for Christmas now, or I would have had the twins in the dark. I dont know what i will do if i get home this evening and there is no power. I am tired of it.

oh boy..it was pandelierium

ok...trees down everywhere, all the bushes are snapped in two. kinda weird. Ice storm is bigger than we thought it would be. It is like a obstacle course driving around withthe trees and power lines down. Of course, cable is down 2. And the power went out a little while ago, so i am considering perhaps headin to a hotel for the night. I dont think anyone has room for us anymore near here. It was weird during the night hearing the constant booms from the transformers blowing up....

i am giving in

Ok, after perusing the radar online and then going out to take the 48 bags of trash to the street, i think I am going to have to move the Jetta to the street in case the driveway ices over and I need to get out. I am normally skeptical about these types of weather events, but the radar shows a significant precipitation event, and the bitter cold outside just now has me convinced. and as a side not, the 1990's era ken hatfield Starter jacket is still the warmest jacket of all time, as far as i am concerned. Walked outside with just pajamas and t shirt, with that bright orange jacket, and i did even remotely feel cold, except for my legs and face. I love that jacket...too bad they didnt make it in another color back then. At least now, Nike seems to make a grey shade of everything.

oh cool

I have met the enemy and it is ...google earth.

silly pic

Thought this was kinda typical

The rooms are done

...the past weekend saw Ian and Rylee go to separate bedrooms. As a part of Xmas, they received bedding, got their rooms painted, carpets put down, twin size beds, curtains, lamps, alarm clock/radios, etc. Nanna and Papa (Jessica's parents) and Aunt Ellen came up and helped with doing all the work, while the twins spent the night with Grandma (my mother). Rylee remained in their old room while Ian went to the 3rd bedroom. I thought their might be a little fuss, but they seem to take to it pretty good.

Jessica and Ellen go to NYC this coming weekend. I think they will have a great time, as Brown seems to be planning things for them to do that will give them a unique New York experience outside the usual "Empire State Building...Times Square stuff).

Xmas is getting closer and I think the shopping is complete. Still have a couple of things coming in the mail that seem to be taking far longer than they should be to get here, but it is xmas season so i guess i shouldnt be surprised.

Sometime this week, we gotta take our yearly family picture and put it on cards and send them out...

Pathers go down in flames, while the Falcons win. I hope the Pathers pull this out. sigh....

xmas parades

Rylee was in her first Christmas parade on Saturday. it was the Central parade...she does the Clemson parade tomorrow night. Hope fully the weather will be good.

Clemson to the Champs bowl in Orlando...too bad. I'd go if they were playin in Charlotte.

We are starting the prep for Ian and Rylee to go to separate rooms on their birthday. Jessica is painting their rooms and we have secured the furniture, lamps, alarm clocks, I-Dogs, bedding, etc... that is supposed to be the birthday for them this year. It should be interesting to see how they react to this when it happens.

Fact O' da Day....
Barry Manilow's hit "Mandy" was originally called "Brandy."

why is it?

Why is it it feels so much better when you lay down on your bed to grab a z or 2 in the morning, than when you go to sleep at night? Just wonderin…. I mean, I go to sleep just fine at night. Usually im asleep within a couple of minutes once I decide its time to go to sleep.

And why is my car suddenly acting loopy? Like, my key doesn’t want to unlock my car. And my car only has one door that has a keyhole. And when I place my key in, it unlocks the car, but doesn’t signal the car that it is unlocked, and I put the key in the ignition and the alarm goes off…. Sigh…I really wanted to avoid this way back when I bought the  Jetta, by not getting anything POWER, but that is the only thing that is, and it is acting flacky now. Perhaps I need batteries in my remote. Somehow, I got the car to recognize the key, so I can drive it right now…but I am not locking my car for the moment.


Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning." "I don't believe you," says Dolly. "It's true, no bull!" exclaims Daisy.


Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly; but when they lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

goodness...a week has gone by

...OK...did Turkey Day. my mother and brother came to town and brought withthem the deep fried turkey. We had mac and cheese, green beans, dressing, banna pudding, vegetable casserole, etc. We then put up the tree and other decorations. Then after my mother and brother left, we wrapped the majority of our presents.... Jessica and the kids went to Florence the next day to see her parents and meet up with Aunt Ellen and Uncle Wes and stayed there till Sunday night.

We are now into the Holidays.

"No matter how hard you work to bring yourself up, there's someone out there working just as hard, to put you down..."

- Dr. Dre

I got Jessica and Aunt Ellen a ticket to NYC for Xmas. They will be going up and staying with Brown. Ellen has never been there so that should be fun for them. I am going to see if they can aquire a "Burberry" handbag for my mother from one of the enterprising sidewalk businessmen. That should be interesting.

Monday morning random

Ok…. Frat voted on bids last night. Sigh…pretty typical conversations. They never seem to realize that the very things they say were said about them when they were not in the Frat. And they seem to want everyone to be perfect. At any rate, looks like over 40 bids will be given out. Probably 20-25 accept initially… between 15 to 20 cross “the burnin sands…”

Clemson sticks it to USC again. That made the weekend, as I now have another year to not worry about those guys. But Spurrier will have those guys cookin in the future.

But then the Panther and the Falcons both went down in flames.

Its always kinda strange now that you can have actual conversations with your kids. I forget now what it was like when they couldn’t talk. Now, its “ I don’t like these chips..I prefer Cheetos, Daddy”.

Holidays now are here. Turkey day on Thursday. My mother is deep fryin a turkey. Then Friday and Sat will see the visits to Jessica’s parents, etc.

Santa is pondering the I-Dog for Rylee and Ian. The Power Ranger Megazord is in hand. Santa has to figure out something for Rylee. Kinda difficult when every commercial on  JETIX has Rylee going…”ooooooooohhhhhh…. I want THAT!”….

Game Night on Saturday was really cool. 10 people were there. Brian and Jessica went all out. About 25 different types of beer, 17 varieties of chips, Brownies and pizza. Played poker for a little while, and I got wiped out real quick. But I got something for them next time….

My online Wish List

Oh, just in case anybody might be wondering about anything to get me for xmas, I made a wish list on Amazon.com. Now, I actually have 2 lists, that shouldn’t overlap. I have a list at home that is for my mother, family etc. And I have this list in case anyone gets brave and goes online or anything like that. Of course, any gift anybody gets me is appreciated, even if it isn’t on these lists. I just know I will get the “ I just don’t know what to get you” stuff, so here ya go. Isnt Xmas fun?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/3FP2RA3VAMFIU

lyrics

Ah yes, the great Garth Brooks…that’s who I am listening to right now, doing one of his covers of Billy Joel. He does a great job at that….

Shameless Written by: Billy Joel

Well I'm shamemeless when it comes to loving you I'll do anything you want me to I'll do anything at all And I'm standing here for all the world to see Oh baby, that's what's left of me Don't have very far to fall You know now I'm not a man who's ever been Insecure about the world I've been living in I don't break easy, I have my pride But if you need to be satisfied I'm shameless, oh honey, I don't have a prayer Every time I see you standin' there I go down upon my knees And I'm changing, swore I'd never compromise Oh, but you convinced me otherwise I'll do anything you please You see in all my life I've never found What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down I could walk away from anyone I ever knew But I can't walk away from you I have never let anything have this much control over me I work too hard to call my life my own I have never let anything have this much control over me I work too hard to call my life my own And I've made myself a world and it's worked so perfectly But it's your world now, I can't refuse I've never had so much to lose Oh, I'm shameless You know it should be easy for a man who's strong To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong I've never lost anything I've ever missed But I've never been in love like this It's out of my hands I'm shameless, I don't have the power now I don't want it anyhow So I got to let it go Oh, I'm shameless, shameless as a man can be You make a total fool of me I just wanted to you to know Oh, I'm shameless, I just wanted you to know Oh, I'm shameless, Oh, I'm down on my knees... shameles

Sitting here shaking my head..

...listening to the song "Shake that Laffy Taffy". HOW IS THIS BEING PLAYED ON THE RADIO!!!!!! ...now, dont get me wrong. i find the song amusing. But isnt this the type of song that should probably only be pulled out after midnight at the club? Definitely not the type of song you want your daughter to be listening to on the way to dance rehearsal. well, actually...now that i think about it...definitely not the type of song I want my daughter listening to, period. and it certainly makes me look at my bottle of Grey Goose differently....

Eshra Shabazz ( formerly known as Erik Brown)

It is times like this that I am always reminded of the great Erik Brown ‘s saying…”the chickens have come home to roost.”…or was that Malcolm X?...cant remember now, but anyway, so…the Jordanians are pissed that the Gatekeepers of all that is Islam, Al-Queda dropped a few bombs on their wedding celebrations yesterday. Got them taking to the streets and stuff. I bet they aint too happy with their fellow bruhs struggles now, huh? And I thought it funny that Al-Queda comes out with a “see…uhhh…see, uh…what happened was…well, heh, heh, we just tryin to represent, and uh…well…uhhh”  Nothing like ticking off the very people you trying to rally behind you.

…and in matters closer to home, nothing like kinda noting that your daughter was getting some water from the bathroom  45 minutes ago, and when you go into the bathroom, the sink is running full blast. Sigh…..

oh, and another thing....

WHAT IS UP WITH THE USC/CLEMSON GAME NOT BEING ON TV….ANYWHERE!!!!... except pay per view, of course. You mean to tell me that somebody like SCTV or something couldn’t use this as a great fund raising tool? You mean somebody like BMW could ante up some cash and get to run a billion commercials during the game? I don’t know. Seems like USC and Clemson could have figured out how to get this game on free TV somehow…

random

I was transferring my contacts in my cell phone to my new phone, and it kinda dawned on me, especially after last weekends alumni stuff, that I can probably look at my phone list and see the people who matter the most to me. I guess that the only number lacking is John Kennedy, who is down in Florida playing Virgil Ward/Bill Dance, it seems. There are people who read this who I care about as friends, but I guess everyone has a closer circle of friends.

By the way, John, I got your email…and I will respond soon.

Saturday is Ian’s last Soccer match of the season. He is now playing goalie, as it seems that he kinda doesn’t like to mix it up in the rugby scrum that is soccer at this level. Which is kinda cool, if he sticks with soccer and becomes a goalie because goalies have the coolest jerseys…. But I am not sure he will be a soccer guy. I am going to try to seriously start introducing baseball this Spring

for a few moments....

A nice weekend it was…great to see a large turnout of alumni, and friends. I had a great time getting to sit with Dr. Hosler @ the game, strangely enough, it seemed like it was yesterday and nothing had changed…..

Kristen, and her husband Michael and son, Harrison. It was, as always now, way too short of a visit. but i am extremely grateful to have been able to see her in person, even if it was for only like 30 hours....

Kinda strange take on the photo, but i thought it...different

Clemons....

weekend on deck...

looking forward to a different sorta weekend... Kristen is coming to town bringing her husband and son. Aunt Ellen is coming too, so another busy couple of nights at the house. going to homecoming, etc. ..maybe sitting around the firebowl saturday night...who knows...

wat chu talkin about?

muggin again....

playin around with the small digital camera

I managed to take a couple of small clips. I cant really get the big ones up because we only have 20mb of space...so I will rotate out occasionally. Click "here"" to see one of the twins....

This time with Ian

This does work, so click on the link right here. that means, click on the word "here" in the previous sentence. You can also right click and download.

Hmmmmm

Gallup: Americans Now Support Interracial Dating

By E&P Staff

Published: October 11, 2005 11:55 AM ET

NEW YORK Americans of a certain age recall vividly when interracial dating was widely frowned on, and even led to the lynching of many black men. Those days have seemingly passed, however, according to a new Gallup Poll.

The results find that Americans of all races accept interracial dating by wide margins, with 95% of younger people (18-29) approving.

Putting these views into action, almost half of all Americans say they have personally dated a person of a different racial/ethnic group, again with younger people in the lead.

Somewhat fewer whites than blacks accept interracial dating, but their acceptance is still strong. By age, the breakdown ranges from the 95% in the younger group to about 45% of those 65 and over.

There is no longer even a double standard on the gender involved, with 71% of the entire sample approving a black man dating a white woman and 75% backing a white man dating a black woman.

In all, 69% of Hispanics say they have dated someone of a different racial or ethnic group, 52% of blacks say this and 45% of whites. There is some gender difference among blacks, with 64% of African-American men saying they have dated a non-black and 42% of black women saying this.

Among whites, 29% said they had dated a Hispanic, 24% an African-Amercian, and 18% an Asian.

The survey, part of Gallup's annual Minority Rights and Relations poll, was based on polling 2,264 adults.

---

E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)

random link

here ya go, Mr. Brown. Check out this link
use your mouse to pull him around....

Ian, all proud and stuff after his soccer match.

For those of you who havent been to a game this year, and dont realize the construction that is going on, here is a picture of the west end zone, about half way thru renovation.

Kinda makes you stop and think for a second, doesn’t it?
If you don’t know this song, find it and …listen.

Lennon/McCartney
Who knows how long I've love you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to--I will.

For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same.

Love you forever and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart.

And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
You know I will
I will.

a whirlwind few days

Well, a very busy weekend this was….it was pretty much pandelirium from Thursday till Sunday night. We had Uncle Erik, Aunt Ellen and Wendy with her boyfriend Chuck all staying at the house, which with the added confusion that is the Twins made for a boisterous time by all. Thusday night was Brandy’s bachelorette gig, which Erik and I went and joined late after his flight arrived….Then Friday was spent running errands, then the rehearsal dinner followed by a cool party hosted by AJ’s parents. I must say that the wine and beer were plentiful. Saturday had the wedding and reception up at Pretty Place, up the hill near Ceaear’s Head. I must admit that it was a pretty place. Then lst night, we returned home with Ellen, Erik and Lynn, and met up with Nanna and Papa, who kept the kids. I woke up @ 630 on Sunday get get Brown to his flight, then hung out the the grandparents and twins will they left on Sunday evening….. Whew!!!...   and I wont even talk about the Braves and their sorryfull bullpen…tsk, tsk….

Brandy and Aj right after their wedding...this is a photo I am kinda playing around with, getting a macro setup for adjusting lighting, color, etc to the pictures i took this weekend. This picture is VERY unfinished, but i thought I would slam it onto the blog

This was Rylee on the day of her first Dance class a month ago.

These guys are getting married this weekend... I get to photograph their wedding.

This is Jessica, my wife. She was "helping" Rylee and Ian put up Halloween decorations today.

interesting

I found this on a random site and thought it interesting since I kinda agree with this person.



As far as i'm concerned, they're opposite yet the same of each other. How do I figure?  Rap in the past 5 years has been a mixture of the same garbage spewed forth by different people. Women, alcohol, cars, jewelry and guns. But along comes Kanye and Em and you get something that actually speaks to the common man who doesn't live nor desire the fantasy life that a lot of the current rappers spit forth. They both rap about real life struggles, home life, school, friends, girls (hey, what's rap without girls? lol) and other day to day mundane shit that just drives you nutso.
Em, even in his wack ass underground tape dealt with everyday issues, but really let loose about the anger he had towards his mother, wife, fans, enemies and his record label. How he felt emotionally about things that virtually no rapper would dare speak of. This common, everyday man approach made him an instant millionaire as he reached out to both white and black kids alike.  Kanye, who fought like hell to get his album out and survived a traumatic car crash, reached out to....
those of us who have taken part in the vessels of "higher education" (college) be they old or young. He brought in the youth with his lyrics and the elders with his use of samples of classic beats and harmonious tones that are easy on the ears. But like Em, he reached out and touched both black and white people despite his hints of racial injustices, appealing to the "Joe Blow" masses who live without the guns, drugs and jewelry... I don't know too many people that live without women. lol
So to question their success is mundane. They simply appeal to the greator mass of people than most now-a-days. Call them soft, corny, sellouts, whatever. Untill I see a mass of black, white, red or green people riding in Escalades on 22's with spinners with Jacob watches on, then i'll continue to identify with what they speak on.
- by Monsante Bey

you can set a clock to it

Ahhh yes. Just like the sun rising in the morn…and settin in the eve…just like the Tigers losing a game they shouldn’t and winning a game they shouldn’t every season…it is inevitable.  The Braves have won the division. Again. Make that 14 in a row. There are Braves fans in High School now who have never known the 100 loss seasons, the countless blown saves…the errors, the drubbings at the hands of the Dodgers and Reds… This was the year to beat the Braves. They didn’t. It could be another 4 or 5 in a row now….  Braves win…again. Ho hum….

Ian getting for first Soccer Match!!!..yes, the jersey is a tad untucked, but...it is what it is.

Rylee cheering Ian!!!!

Ian @ First Soccer Match!!!

the shape of things to come

I went to Ian’s soccer practice this evening. Oh, seemingly every family with means in Easley was there. Except of course for the black people…but that’s a different post…. Ian seems slated to start his first match Saturday as a Forward, or Striker. Evidently, he is a speedy young’un, and can kick the ball and run at the same time, a skill not mastered by most 3 a half year olds, much less 4 year olds. But, the practice match that they did this evening doesn’t bode well for a fluid, well played match on the old pitch. Seems more like it is going to be a mob following the ball around while the goalies count grass blades.

But I was struck at how much things had changed. Seems like yesterday my Thursday evenings would have been spent sitting around Huddle House talking about seemingly important stuff until wee hours of the morn…. Not any more. AndAs I am looking forward to seeing my friends in a couple of weeks , etc. I am struck by the fact that meaningful times getting together with them in the future can probably be counted on my hands.

Fall starts TOMORROW!!!!

Ok… for some odd reason, the house has really been warm this summer. I don’t remember it being this warm last time around. The heat upstairs has been a tad warm, which in turn has warmed up the usually frigid living room/kitchen area. What has not been happening is that the house hasn’t been really cooling down at night like I expect it would. But I think that perhaps I didn’t have the windows open wide enough, so I rushed home and opened them up fully a few minutes ago…I am thinking that perhaps this might make a difference…. And just in time for the first day of Fall tomorrow.

ok...lets see ..did we learn anything????

They are saying that this Hurricane Rita may turn into a Cat 4 gig. I think if i were livin in Galveston, that would mean that i would be in my car right now headin out of town... or anywhere on the Texas/Louisiana coast....

Wish this heat would go away.... but Fall is now shaping up pretty good. Kristen is coming for Homecoming, bringing Harrison (her son) with her. (as well as her husband). Brown is coming down in a couple of weeks for the Ford wedding.... the Tigers are looking good in football..the Pathers are looking good in Football... and the Braves are looking good to get to the playoffs...AGAIN!!!!

but, seriously...the heat can go away anytime now....

the twins new craze....

Super Robot Monkey Team…Hyperforce Go!!!!

Kanye????????

Starting to get a tad tired of the people in New Orleans yelling about stuff. I noticed that I don’t hear people from Mississippi or Alabama yelling about stuff…could it be they had a better plan and subsequent leadership after the storm hit? Did the Federal people screw up in some areas? Yes…but so did the local and state govs…. Just getting a little tired of seeing your people (that’s you, Brown) with the conspiracy stuff…now people are trying to float (get it…float?...) the idea that Bush had the levies broken on purpose so he could get rid of the “yard apes” (that’s a term a local college official used here in Greenville) and start afresh down there…sigh…

And yes, I know..you were right about the comparison of pictures. That is wrong too…that the white people were finding food, and the black people were looting is typical of how the media slants things….ALL THE TIME.

Miami coming to town Saturday afternoon. I am not going…I might not get to a game till Florida State…this shall be interesting. Win or lose, this is a game to test whether or not the Tigers have arrived or not.

…is it me, or do major league baseball players all look like battlefield medics with those red cross emblems on their batting helmets?

By the way, Kanye West is conflicted….

doing the family thing

Kinda thought provoking…. Today was Ian’s first soccer practice. His team is the “Penguins”, and he got his uniform . His number is “3”, which is kinda cool, especially since that is the type of number I would pick. So…Rylee had her first dance lesson last Wednesday (every Wednesday for a while) and Ian’s soccer practices will be on Thursdays normally, with his matches on Saturday mornings.up until Thanksgiving. But it is weird that it seems that we have started a different stage now…kids doing soccer and dance with real school on the near horizon. And I couldn’t help but think while I listen to the Easley High School Band practice off in the distance…”wont be long before we will be dealing with that sort of stuff…wont be long.”

saw Josh, Alicia and Lydia

Got to see Josh yesterday. it was a "quick" drive up to Raleigh and back. but, it was good to see my friend, his wife and his daughter. All seem to be doing well, although I must admit Josh did seem a tad bit shellshocked still.... but, it happens to everyone.

headin out...

Headin up to see Josh and his new daughter. Just a quick drive up and back. Perhaps pix to come tonight. My CPU is draggin though. Need to sweep for adware and spyware again. Talked to Brown and I am looking forward to seeing him in a month. Also talked to Avolio and she is definitely coming for Homecoming. I really look forward to seeing her back down here....

What tha FRACK!!!!!!!

Ok…now…I UNDERSTAND that a Supreme Court Chief Justice passing away is important news…and I can UNDERSTAND breaking in on any programming to report it..but….. FIVE FRACKIN MINUTES AT THE END OF A CLOSE GAME???!!!?????...couldnt the five minute piece they have had prepared for months waited until the news ran immediately following the game? sigh…..

Now…wow…the freshman tailback looked like the real deal. And of course, the win over A&M was clutch.

sitting here shaking my head

People are frakking shooting at helicopters as they try to rescue them!!!!!!??????  (Sigh )  this Gulf hurricane thing has made me think seriously about a few things. #1 is the fact that after watching people trying to get in touch with their family members…that we need to have an emergency plan. Just in case. I think the only thing that could happen here that is on par with current events might be something happening with the nuclear plant that causes a massive evacuation.

Football is here. The Gamecocks are up first. Then the Tigers this Saturday.

uh...hmmm...ok?

gas is 3.00 a gallon? uh.... never thought I'd see that.

wow

While my prayers and thoughts go to the people on the gulf coast and New Orleans, I must say that I will NEVER establish a permanent home on the coast…anywhere, and will probably include lakeside property, as well. That is just some serious …damage. My creekside home is about the limit…I have already dealt with one flood, and STILL haven’t completely recovered yet. I cant possibly imagine what those people are dealing with.

wow

they are saying a category 5 hurricane is going to hit new orleans...i am officially putting new orleans on my places NOT to live, along with South Florida and the California coast, The book is still out on Charleston, too. it is interesting listening to the XM satelitte channel that is broadcasting to the people in Louisiana. Man, I would have been long gone from there a couple of days ago, yet people are just now leaving, with the outer bands hitting the shore now....

slow progress

In the Frak yeah department…I went to the Heywood Mall today to get fitted for a tux…. Pottery Barn is coming to Heywood. Wow…I thought I’d NEVER see that.

Today, we moved the futon out of the 3rd bedroom and are starting to prepare for Ian and Rylee to have separate bedrooms. Should be fun for Ian to move out and have his big play table in his bedroom. Of course, now we will have to deal with him playing with toys instead of going to slepp…But I guess rules will have to be set, and enforced. I got out the leaf blower today, as well. The leaves are starting to fall…..

Today to-do

Today ..i have to get fitted for my tux…. Also gotta get shin guards and cleats for Ian for his soccer team gig coming up next month…also looking for bedding stuff for Rylee for xmas …

Testing this new Blogger/Word option thingy

Testing this new Blogger/Word option…..

I just don’t get why the recycle people toss out styofoam (sp?) out of the bins onto the ground…and then I don’t get why the trash people who come later will only pick up the trash bags…leaving the Styrofoam on the ground…. I just don’t get it.

theres always a bigger fish

always amusing to watch the little league world series stuff, especially when these kids face adversity...and break down bawling on the field...hard lessons are learned...they are used to beating the crap out of everyone all season, then suddenly, some kid catches up to their fast ball, and parks it beyond the wall. Suddenly, you aint the stud you thought you were...you are just another above average player.... who lost. I bet the kid who struck out 18 of 18 batters yesterday gets tagged by some Taiwan kid whose parents will be sent to jail if he doesnt perform....

by the way....

...its 82 degrees outside, but the heat index is 91 degrees. Fall cannot get here quick enough....

i gave in

..I found another Julius Peppers #90 jersey...I am watching it on Ebay. I...must...have...IT!!!!..it ends tonight @ 1230ish.... so i am cleaning our bedroom, watching the ebay site...me thinks that since it is Saturday night, bidding will be light.

I watched the entire preseason Panthers game tonight (while watching ebay, talking to my mother, jessica, AJ and a frat brother...amidst cleaning up the upstairs bathroom, the kids bedroom and starting on our bedroom...yes, i was bored)...I have decided to make my pick now. i am going with the Panthers. Now, i know this probably means that the Falcons will go to the Super Bowl. Always seems to work that way....

tried to talk to Lynn online...alas, no response...

Long ago way down in the jungle
Someone got an inspiration for a tune
And that jingle came from the jungle
Became famous mighty soon
Thrills and chills it sends through you
Hot so hot it burns you too
Though it's just the growl of the Tiger
It was written in a syncopated way
More and more they yell for the Tiger
Everywhere you go today, they're shoutin:
Where's that Tiger?
Where's that Tiger?
Where's that Tiger?
Where's that Tiger?
Hold that Tiger!
Hold that Tiger!
Hold that Tiger!

fact for today

Passacaglia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In music a passacaglia (French: passacaille, Spanish: passacalle or pasacalle) is a musical form and the corresponding court dance. Its name derives from the Spanish pasear (to walk) and calle (street), supposedly to denote the music played by wandering musicians.

Originally a slow Italian or Spanish dance in 3/4 time, the passacaglia later came to be an instrumental work in 3/4 based on a ground (that is, a melody which repeats unchangingly throughout while other lines are freely varied). The passacaglia is very closely related to the chaconne, except that in the chaconne, the repeating melody is always in the bass (that is, it is a ground bass).

A number of passacaglia themes became well known enough to merit their own names. Many Baroque composers wrote variations on La Follia, also known as la folia and la folie d'Espagne (the folly of Spain) a chord progression apparently based on a Spanish folk melody. Composers from Jean-Baptiste Lully and Arcangelo Corelli to Sergei Rachmaninoff and Vangelis (in his film score to the motion picture 1492: Conquest of Paradise) have used the La Follia theme, although not always composing a passacaglia based on it. Another exemple is the Passacaglia in D Minor by Christian Friedrich Witt (Germany, 1660-1716) for organ or clavier, often falsely attributed to J.S. Bach (BWV Anh. 182).

One of the best known examples of a passacaglia in western classical music is the one in C minor for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 582. Another Baroque example is Dido's lament, "When I am Laid in Earth," in Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas; and a 19th century example is the finale of Josef Rheinberger's 8th organ sonata. Perhaps the most frequently heard passacaglia, however, is the finale of Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 4 (although Brahms did not explicitly call it a passacaglia, it follows the rules of one and the repeated figure is based on one found in Bach's Cantata No. 150, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich). Halvorsen also composed a passacaglia that is based on a Handel theme and written for a duet of violin and viola, considered among the most popular pieces for both instruments due to its simplicity and depth.

shopping is on...

...starting to gather xmas gifts now. I found an awesome jersey for my brother. Its a julius peppers Carolina Panthers jersey...looks so much like the real deal I am jealous. sewn on numbers, sticthed on name.... you cant tell it isnt the real deal unless you are all into this stuff like I am. I got it today. i am now thinking about getting one for myself.... looks like the twins are going to separate bedrooms come xmas, if not before. therefore, Santa is bringing bedroom stuff for them, via the grandparents. we are trying to find bedding etc for their twin size beds that they will be moving up too then. seems like yesterday that they were out of the cribs and into the small size beds. of course, all of this is compounded by there being 2 (two) of them, for those of you reading with singletons..... jessica is pondering tossing the Explorer and getting something smaller that will do better in regards to gas. so we are searching now for a bettr car, i guess. Gas is just flat out ridiculus...but, if you are a normal human being, you already know that and have been saying that to yourself .

Got the invite to go over to the End of Bandcamp picnic/barbecue thingy...i am going to try to get over to that this year because i am curious to see how the Frat hits the ground this year. Jenee (the president) has potential to be a great leader for them, but i wonder if the rest of the group is going to play nice, be grown ups and do what is expected of them. I have my fingers crossed that they will not play the "high school" games anymore.

watched the stuff over in Gaza this morning. It was weird. i am not sure what to think of it. Kinda hard to know which side to be on in that discussion.

US soccer won again last night. I am looking forward to the World cup next summer. THAT should be fun, especially if the US side can hold up to its current ranking

lots of thinking going on....

10 years ago, I lost a dear friend. Now, granted, i wasnt as close to him as a couple of people who read this, but i did consider him to be the type of person i would still be in touch with today as i am with the people I consider to be within my personal circle of friends. I think back to that time, especially these days...10 years ago...wow. His death really changed the course of where I was heading with things. I was just elected to my first term as President..Scott was Secretary and it was widely assumed he would follow me as President of the chapter. Instead, i remain as president for 3 years, go on to be District VP then President, then attain National Office. Eventually I become Sponsor of the chapter and Kappa Kappa Psi in a very important part of my life. I must admit that having to call all the brothers and tell them of his death, and then try to push forward during those difficult times changed things with me. And i always consider that time as the beginning of what i consider to be the "modern" times of my life. I look at it now...Josh is married and has just celebrated the birth of his child....kim is married and has a son...I am married to jessica and have twins, one of whom is partially named after Scott.... Lisa and TJ are married with a son....the list goes on.... who would have thunk it at that time that all of that would happen.. I never will forget the conversation I had with kristen immediately following his funeral, driving back to clemson, a couple of days before bandcamp, and us talking about how life would never seem the same again.

And..it didn't.

10 years ago. Seems like forever and a day...yet seems like yesterday. I regret that I havent been able to get to your grave recently, Scott. but i will stop by sometime soon. I told you the day we said goodbye to you that i would never forget you, and i wont.

Fall is just about here....

spooling up for a wedding that i get to photograph in a couple of weeks. Tomorrow I am going to scout the church. This is a very small wedding that is only wanting the "basic" photos. but this will give me a chance to get in a gig before a somewhat more important gig ( to me, at least) in October.

...I am also investigating male strippers to hire for Brandy.....

time moving quickly

Don't hang on,
Nothing last forever
but the earth and sky
It slips away,
And all your money
won't another minute buy

Dust in the wind,
all we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind,
everything is dust in the wind
- Kansas

seems like so many times now...I think that I need to call Kristen, or that I need to call Lynn and check in with her...or that I just need to call Brown and laugh about the Yankees...or that i need to call Josh and see how the new family is going...or I need to call Lisa and just say HI!!!...or I need to call Brandy and just keep in touch...or i need to call Kim and try to get up to see her...but.... somehow, when i get home, after dinner, bath, reading, and bedtime...I never do. And this makes me so damn sad. the next thing you know, a few days have past...then suddenly you look at the calendar, and MONTHS have passed.

hmmmmm

“Oh, the places you'll go, oh, the things you'll see.”

“You don't have to hold onto the pain to hold onto the memory.”

Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
~Donald Rumsfeld

??????

seems my last 2 posts didnt work. Wonder if Firefox has something to do with this?

steppin up the discipline a notch

...seems like Rylee and Ian are starting to get a little dose of reality lately. Used to be something like..."Rylee.... put the cup up!"...no movement......."Rylee.... put the cup up!"...a little"umm umph!!"......."Rylee.... put the cup up!"...stomp the floor and look defiant. Then we would have to either give a little pop or do it ourselves.... now, things have had to change.... lets just say that no response the first time leads to some..uh...stinging consequences. Its kinda sad that we have had to advance to this stage....but, alas...its necessary. It has led to a slighter faster response, i must report.

back home

...i have finally returned home from Lexington, where National Convention for the Frat was this year. It was a lot of fun, and was great to renew old aquaintances again. It did make me ponder seriously whether or not i want to run for national office again. That is something I will have to seriously consider in the next couple of months..

So we are now into August. Rylee and ian get signed up for Dance and Soccer, i have a wedding to photograph( i think) and school starts for Jessica and the kids in the Fraternity. I am so ready for fall, even though we only have had a recent stretch of hot weather. Fall is by far the best time of the year. On deck for the fall... must visit Wyatt and his new kid, Brandys wedding and a visit by Kristen down here.

dude...take a log off.....

uh...i think its been summer...i thinks it time for fall. Seriously, dude...tome for Fall...like...NOW!

congrats to Josh!!!

Josh told me that on July 14th, Alicia delivered their child!!!. He says, "We named her Lydia Wren Wyatt. She is 6 pounds, 15 ounces, 20 inches long".

Congrats to Josh and Alicia!!!!

I Corinthians 13:1-13
1: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2: And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3: If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4: Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;
5: it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6: it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
7: Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8: Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
9: For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;
10: but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.
11: When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
12: For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.
13: So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:1-13

sigh.....

wow...

...its just a revolving door of life events...weddings, people about to get married...people about to have kids... now, another engagement.

quote of the day?

"The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self." - Whitney Young

Did i mention that my mother bought Ian a millenium falcon Star Wars toy and Rylee a polly mermaid/fish tank thingy.... this on top of the barbie/whatever else she got them last week. I was supposed to have her pick up the kids tomorrow, but i am going to do it myself, else the twins will start to think its the Holidays/Birthday season in July.

And why is it that I am watching the Braves out in San Francisco and people are wearing jackets, sweaters, etc??? and the temperature here is starting to near Africa hot? Makes me long for Fall to get here, like tomorrow.

"Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration." - Niccolo Machiavelli

Fish sticks and syrup

Seems like there is nothing better than French toast sticks and syrup for Ian and Rylee. of course, it is a little funny to watch them eat "french toast" sticks (i.e, fish sticks) and see Ian kinda taste a stick, and have this look on his face like..."this taste a tad different than what I am used to ". Tonight, he looked at me and said, "this French toast stick has chicken in it". to which I quickly said, "nope, its a french toast stick!" he loked at it again, and resumed eating and dipping in syrup. if you dont know, Ian eats littel to no meat, with exceptions being Bacon, pepperoni and...well, thats it for meat or any type. Oh, and rylee ate the "french toast sticks too....

random

...Finally was able to borrow a 25foot ladder to replace those light bulbs in the back yard that light up near the creek, from Lynn and Trent. I will test that out soon. not sure i am looking forward to clmbing up that thing.

Jessica is in Myrtle Beach for a couple of days on some teacher thingy. So its just me and the twins today, throught Wednesday.

A little over a week till I go to Lexington for a few days for National Convention. It should be fun...

What can run but never walks,
has a mouth but never talks,
has a head but never weeps,
has a bed but never sleeps?

uh, oh...times sneaking up on us...

....suddenly, we have to start making bigtime decisions. Rylee is to start dance in the Fall and Ian will be doing soccer. We also have to think about whether we want to place Ian and Rylee into Blythe Academy in Greenville, a school that has a language immersion program, and then if we do that, do we go Spanish or French? or do we take them out of daycare in Gville and place them in Easley and them place them in Easley schools. or do we place them at Augusta Circle? We are pondering their fate of school, even as they are acting so bad that we are reluctant to have their grandparents keep them without us for any extended period of time...sigh.....

...Ah...Lance Armstrong is sticking it to the Frenchies...AGAIN!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!! and that is a dilema with me. I prefer French and that language, but i dont like the people. Spanish is probably better served to the twins for their future, but i hate that language, even though they already know it a little from the lolitas at their daycare.

Ian become quite a stubborn little fellow. I constantly have to keep telling myself "He's 3 and a half...he's 3 and a half....", else i will want him to act like a 18 year old...which he isnt even close to. but i know he is aware of his actions to a point. But I also know that he is still immature enough to not be able to always control his actions. But he is so impetuous at times. i think Jessica might have a cow...

flooding, picture editing and whatnot...

I have decided to make the switch to The GIMP photo editing software.... I am not totally familiar with it, but I have played around with it a little while and think it will be a suitable FREE software alternative to Adobe Photoshop for the moment.

The picture hereto the left shows kinda what the benign little creek flowing through the backyard looks like everytime it comes a huge rainstorm event. It suddenly becomes the Colorado river. This time, the rapids actually broke off part of the huge rocks that are there normally and changed the flow of the creek a little.

A couple of Sundays ago we went to Highlands NC with the twins and they got to do the mountain thing for the first time.

ah...rain...

Oh, so its SouthTrust that Wachovia took over, not Sun Trust...

Big rain for tonight...always have to worry ablout potential flooding.

Braves creeping up on the Nats....

Ok..pencil it in...

...we're going to London for the Olympics in 2012. Should be a fun family trip...hit London, and probably get into Ireland a notch or two.... kids will be 9 and a half then.

ah...4th of july....

When you want it the most there's no easy way out
When you're ready to go and your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is
-Celine Dion

had some killer fireworks yesterday...I mean, the "drop the ball in the cannon, it goes BOOM" kind...

life goes on....

further proof that the best are always taken first...Luther Vandross died today.... wow!

Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
That's why a bear can rest at ease
With just the bare necessities of life

Booh Bah

browsing some links right now while Ian and Rylee watch Boohbah
i still think these swimsuits for the twins would be cool, but they are a tad expensive... i think im going to get Santa to bring them this year... i think the Hip Hop name generator is kinda interesting. But a good place to go for interesting stuff to start the day is Fark.

a hint...

sometimes, words in the post are actualy links... you have to hover over them to see if they are links....

ah...back to the grind...

...looking around on the internet and i think I found a t shirt for Brown, based on the escapades he relates to me about his bachelor life.

Seems like i might have another wedding gig offer for August. That would be sweet... i printed out a preliminary set of business cards last night. i am not sure I will stick with the design, but I have come up with a name for a potential photography business. Ihad to do something because when i printed out some test pictures at walmart, they hassled me about copyright and about who I copied the pictures from, as if they were too professional ( their words)...now, I think they look alright, but I am now saying they are that good...but i feel that I am learning, and I must thank AJ for letting me borrow a monitor that is larger and is giving me a truer picture in regards to color and sharpness.

heres one for Jessica and Brandy...

2 ounces blanco tequila
1 ounce Cointreau
½ ounce fresh lime juice
Stir all the ingredients in a mixing glass and pour into a highball glass packed as high as possible with cracked ice. Garnish with a slice of lime, then "let it lie down" (as Sinatra used to say about his Jack rocks) so the ice waters down the booze. If the drink is too strong, hit it with a dash of agua

I found that in one of my favorite magazines.

life goes on...

I havent posted this in a while, so I thought I'd post the picture to the left again and see if anybody bites on it..

A while ago, a friend called me and wished me good luck. I really appreciated that...

... Brown asked me to burn some labels onto Cds for his little (smirk) non profit he putters around with in his spare time. I have been amused by his work for sometime now, as i think he might get the feeling that I am thinking he be a treehugger or something. And I do get a kick out of his musings online on their blog.... but one of his latest postings got me to thinking recently.... As I look at my kids and see them growing up and getting more and more "aware" everyday, I know that it will come the time when they might be shunned because of what they look like. That will be unfortunate, although I also know that they will reap benefits because of what they look like too... as Brown mused about 1947 and rhetorical questions about our appearances, aesthetics, space and design since then, i wandered off topic and wondered if we had changed since 1947...period. But, back on subject, i dont think he a liberal, whiny, teeth gnashing, Howard Dean flunky. I just hope he can somehow get me a nice polo with the logo for Christmas. Although I am not sure how it is you plan to get Manhattan up to LEEDS specs...

Since i have gotten XM radio, i have been listening hard to the 60's channel, as well as the 70's channel. I then came across this article in Slate. How true, how true.... i hear so much stuff now that I immediately know has been done before when i listen to 107.3 or 98.1. Its sad really, because there is talent there sometimes

Can anyone guess who this is? And where we are?

Fathers day, a tad late....

since i was out of town for Fathers Day, i didnt get a chance to post this stuff, so i will do it now.... by the way, i got a hedgeclipper and a iron/steamer thingy (really cool) from the twins.

"Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a daddy."
- Anonymous

12 Traits of a Great Father
By Julian Marcus

1- He's a good disciplinarian
A good father loves his children, but he doesn't let them get away with murder. He strongly disapproves of his children's misdeeds, using tough love to prove a point. He does this through the power of his words, not his fists.
Likewise, a father doesn't reward his children for actions that are expected of them, such as helping with house chores or performing well in school. If his child drops out of school, the father demands that he provide for himself, considering the child no longer wants to invest in his own future.

2- He allows his kids to make some mistakes
A good father realizes that his children are human, and that making mistakes is part of growing up. Spending money recklessly, getting into minor car accidents, getting drunk and sick for the first time, even dating questionable women are rites of passage, and a good father recognizes this. However, he makes it clear that repeated irresponsibility won't be tolerated.

3- He's open-minded
A good father understands that times, people and tastes change over the years, and doesn't try to maintain some gold standard of his own time. For instance, he realizes that body piercings are more commonplace than before, that more couples have premarital sex, and that people talk more candidly about personal issues. In other words, he allows his children to be citizens of their day and age.

4- He teaches his children to appreciate things
A good father never lets his children take what they have for granted. From the food on the table to the good education he's paying for, a good father will make his children see the value in everything they have. He'll ask his child to get a job to help pay for a part of his first car, and take the time to illustrate how important a good education is. He doesn't let his kids treat him like an ATM.

5- He accepts that his kids aren't exactly like him
Everyone is different and a father knows this well. He won't expect his kids to live the same kind of life he does, and do the same kind of work. He also respects their values and opinions, as long as they don't harm the family or anyone else.
To use a pop culture example, he's like Martin Crane from Frasier; the everyman blue-collar dad who allowed his pompous sons to steer their lives in a different direction, even if he didn't quite agree with them.

6- He spends quality time with his children
A dad knows how to have fun with his kids too, taking them out to games, movies, and supporting their sports teams by attending their matches. He takes the time to listen to his kids and have a good, easy chat with them. He also makes time to help them with their homework, every night if necessary.

7- He leads by example
A good father is above the old "do as I say, not as I do" credo. He will not smoke if he doesn't want his kids to do it, and definitely won't drink heavily. He teaches them to deal with conflict with a family member and with others by being firm but reasonable at the same time.
A good father also illustrates the importance of affection by professing his love for their mother in front of them. And he won't fight with her in their presence. In all, he adheres to the values he'd like his children to follow.

8- He's supportive & loyal
Although he may be a football fanatic, if his son doesn't share his love for the game, he accepts it. He may be loyal to his alma mater and dream of having his kid follow his legacy, but if his son prefers to study abroad, he'll support his decision to take a different path.
A good father is also his children's public defender, standing up for them when needed. He waits for privacy to administer discipline. A safety net, a good father is also the person his kids turn to when things go wrong.

9- He challenges his kids
A father wants his children to be the best they can be, and gives them challenges that help them grow as human beings. This means giving them some liberty to face setbacks and resolve conflicts on their own. Or it could be a task, such as building something for the house.
If a father wants his children to take over the family business, he teaches them how to keep it flourishing -- provided that's the path they want to take.

10- He teaches his children lessons
A father figure is the prime source of knowledge in the ways of men, and teaches his kids accordingly. From shaving to being courageous, a father molds his kids into well-rounded members of society. He especially instructs them in proper etiquette, on being honest and keeping their word, and on being thankful.
A great father knows he must sacrifice his own comfort for his fatherly duties. For instance, if he comes home from a hard day at work and catches his kids looking at porn on the Net, he'll take the time to address an awkward situation even though he's tired.

11- He protects his family at all costs
As the main provider of security and necessities, a father will do whatever he can for his family. He'll take a second job to provide for them, and he'll put his own safety on the line to keep them out of harm's way. This is how a father instills in his children the importance of personal sacrifice.

12- He shows unconditional love
This is the greatest quality of a good father. Even though he gets upset at his children's faults and may lament that they did not attain what he hoped for them, a father loves his children no less for it.

of course

Rylee is all excited about doing the Dance thing. Ask Ian if he wants to do it and he says NO!!! "I wanna do SPORTS!!!!" hmmmm... they are always reminding me how different they are, even though they are twins

tidying up....

looks like Rylee will be starting dance lessons this August. Not sure about Ian though...although I am considering it, as it is a useful concept for him, i.e., they have a chance to socialize with others, and also learn to take commands (authority lessons) from someone other than daycare and/or me and jessica. Kinda funny...they will be doing their lessons from Cheryl Hosler, Dr. Hoslers wife and their studio. I had a long conversation with her during lunch and setup lessons for the Fall.

...now why cant a GARBAGE truck driving along the road stop and pick up a random piece of garbage that is sitting in the middle of the road and is causing traffic to have to swerve to miss it?

tryin to do some touch-ups of some photos i took 2 weeks ago. It is amazing what a airbrush can do!!!!

whew!!!!

...finally home from the weekend and "training" i had to go to in Greensboro on Monday and Tuesday.

upcoming weekend

...think we are heading down to see Jessica's parents this weekend and go out on the "family" pontoon boat. Actually, the boat belongs to Jessica's father and there has been humorous discussion as to his bolting a grill onto the front of the boat. The womenz are all up in arms...I'm like.."its his damn boat. he can do whatever he wants to it."...which seems to be the attitude he is taking. Good for him, I say.

Going to take the camera and try to get some photos of Nanna and Papa with the twins.

Jessica and Brandy are discussing a quick trip to the beach next month or so. That would be fun. I havent been to the beach with friends in several years.... more on this soon.

Its easy to root for yer team when they are awesome...and I also think its easy to pull for your team when they are pathetic. But what I am finding it hard to deal with is when your team was supposed to be good, and suddenly sucks really bad. It is just dissapointing... kinda hard to watch on TV and read about them. I am hoping they will snap out of it and contend, but the injuries and the players they have had to call up......and i know Brown is dealing with the same thing up with the Yankees, except their expectations are far greater.

Did ya know

It is impossible to lick your elbow.


By the way...tee heee!!!.... Michael Jackson "Beat It!"

Well they say the sky's the limit
And to me that's really true
But my friend you have seen nothin'
Just wait 'til I get through...
Chorus:
Because I'm bad, I'm bad - come on
(Bad bad - really, really bad)
You know I'm bad, I'm bad - come on, you know
(Bad bad - really, really bad)
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
Who's bad...
- Michael Jackson

Did You Know.......

Over 75% of peple who read this will try to lick their elbow.

Here is where a toast is made, and they say "To the open road!"... it took me a while to figure this one out but now i know where the twins are getting this stuff...

Hmmm...experimenting with B/W and color editing...kinda a raw photo but i think I got the idea

musings

Last night, Rylee and Ian went through the entire checklist of booboos, monsters, washing hands, etc. once they were in bed. Probably took them an hour and a half before they finally went to sleep.

Aunt Ellen is coming to town tonight. She is supposed to be going with Jessica to see Riverdance tomorrow night. I have to clean the playroom this evening before she gets here.

I think Harwood purchased tickets to the Daytona 500. So...i will be able to take one track off my must see list come February. I will have gone to Charlotte, Darlington, Atlanta and will be able to add Daytona. Then i will have Bristol and Talledega on my list of tracks to go to. i thinki I may target Bristol for next year...at least get to the Busch race, which you can see the busch race and Nextel practice too

Looks like the Michael Jackson case is going to be coming to and end tomorrow (a guess). my guess is that he will be found innocent. But...the guy is whacked...somebody needs to tell the man that sleeping with the kiddies isnt well thought of....

Another Quote:
"You know it's going to hell when the best rapper out there is white and the best golfer is black."
-Charles Barkley

tinkering with some snappys... this is a recent graduate of Clemson.

Hmmm, the things you find out.

Amaging how much better your ceiling fan will work if you wipe the dust off of it.

Quote of the Day!
"These are my new shoes. They're good shoes. They won't make you rich like me, they won't make you rebound like me, they definitely won't make you handsome like me. They'll only make you have shoes like me. That's it."
-Charles Barkley

Here ya go, Brandy. Ah, the miracles of Paint Shop...

Pictures

I was going to post another picture, but I will wait till tomorrow.

rylee has a new thing now where she goes through a "checklist" of things that are hurting her before she will finally go to sleep. And ian has to have a drink of water.

This is Brandy and Aj. They are getting married in a few months...I was goofing around with some pictures that i took. i just wanted to see what this looked like on the web through my laptop. Comments?

wierd

This morning, I fixed the twins french toast sticks. As they sat down, they both picked up their cups and, together in unison, said "To the open road!!!!" Now, i have No idea where that came from.

on the docket...

...defragging the 60 gig, researching Browns October airfare (he gave me a link for $240.00, pretty good), hoping the new background comes today, getting a check, seeing Jessica off the Kansas City, gettingkids fed, getting kids bathed, getting kids to bed... clean up den and downstairs bathroom...hope to get Brandy/Aj engagement photo done...setup Graduation photo shoot...

...back in South Carolina

...wow...it was a haul, but got back in decent time....managed to spend only about 45 minutes outside the car today and 10 and a half hours inside it...rain on the NC/Sc end slowed me down considerably. As usual, great to see Brown and Kristen....look forward to seeing them again in the Fall... Jessica bolting to see Kari on friday. Should be fun dealing with the kids by myself for several days

"Don't want to leave, but we both know sometimes it's better to go. Somehow I know we'll meet again, not sure quite where and I don't know just when you're in my heart, so until then, smile, don't want to cry saying goodbye." -The Muppets

oh, and this too.....
"I get by with a little help from my friends." - John Lennon

Empire State Building

Brown in his spacious den.

Kristen and her son

...hello from New Jersey

...Saw Brown on Sunday and Monday...got to Kristens last night and have been here today. Bolting here as soon as possible tomorrow. Probably 10 hours on the road tomorrow..thank god for XM radio.

I was able to get some good stock photos ( i think) and I am pretty confident of some photos of Kristen's son. I might post one of them late Wednesday night.

There are WAYYYYYYYYY too many people up here. Traffic is just out of control...rubbernecking constantly. A drive that should take 5 minutes can take an hour. Ridiculous.

Well... gotta go...

Hitting the road soon

...heading to New York City on Sunday to see Brown and see some sites... then back to Jersey to see Kristen and her 8 month old son Harrison.... so, long haul in the car on Sunday mixing it up with all the memorial day traffic...at least the Jetta can make it there on one tank of gas.

Should be able to get a couple of px of some stuff there on Monday. And i am sure Brown with have some ideas... Then back home on Wednesday...Jessica is off to Kansas City to see Kari on Friday and she will be gone till Wednesday.

I have a photo gig with Aj's sister at some point. I am looking forward to that and getting some good "portrait" shots and other poses with my light setup. That should be good.

???

Ok..so..Ive am about halfway there on the porfolio thing...I have different photos of landscapes, things, people outside, etc...I now am working on getting some good portrait shots of different people. I one gig set up with the sister of a friends fiancee. i am looking to do one more of a different person. I have a white guy, black girl, my twins...will have 2 different types of white girls at some point and I might try to drive up and see Brown in a couple of weeks. If I see Kristen on that trip, i bet i could take some photos of her and her son and some pix of NYC. Then i could get Brown to take look at the photos i will use... I just need to see if that will be a good time and if we can free up 50 dollars for gas for me to drive up there and back. Also, i think Jessica might be flying out to Kansas City to see Kari, so I might have to wait till later...I guess we shall see... I want to have a diverse set of photos in my portfolio.

sigh....just got back

...just got back from Charlotte. It was a fun weekend. Saw Star Wars and the Races on Saturday. kinda tired so I heading to bed here soon. Of course, the #20 took out my guy by knocking the #01 into the #29. So...no..it wasnt a bummer that Steard wrecked. it was a bummer that he took out Harvick. Plain and Simple...still had fun though...wrecks right in front of us...direct view of Pamela Anderson. Going to get the same tickets next year...

Off to Charlotte

...back to Charlotte today. dropping the twins off in Columbia to stay with the grandparents for the weekend, then heading up I77 to Charlotte, meeting up with Brandy, AJ, Harwood, Jessica and Ellen for dinner, then a 9:45 showing of Star Wars. To the track saturday midday, tailgating then to the race Saturday night. Then back to pick up the kids Sunday afternoon, then back home. Should be a fun weekend...I am going to try to get a picture of Pamela Anderson. And I might even get to see some Pam Anderson wannabes during the weekend too...

food for thought

..a while ago, I was listening to some radio station online and there was an discussion concerning reparations to African Americans, etc.... the question came up that was posed like this..."If you were offered the ability to go back to Africa, would you go?"...kinda funny because I was sitting here thinking to myself "Hell No!"...when a caller calls in, obviously a black man..and he says "I got 2 words for you on the question..."HELLLLLL NO!!!!!" "He went on to say that he will take his Fried Chicken and Collard Greens and stay right where he is at than go to Africa and have to fight off Mosquitos and Lions. I am with you brother...lock step.