Entry for April 08, 2007 - Keester

It is funny how we read blogs by others and they act as a springboard for an idea for a blog we then write about. I read a blog yesterday posted by Mac on pics that people post on their blogs that are then 'acquired' by other individuals without permission. I posted a comment on his blog about it. I don't think anyone should take anything from another person's blog to claim it as their own. That was the point I wanted to get across is that you shouldn't claim something as your's when it's not. But we have all taken graphics and pics off the internet for our own use. Most of the time it's pretty obvious that you have altered a pic in some such way and that it is purely for entertainment value. Most people feel that if there is a pic posted on the internet it is fair game. Being in the public eye it's out there for anyone to download and use. I myself, have spent many hours looking for just the right pic on a search engine. I have never claimed the orginal pic as my own, but just the creation made from it. I got to thinking, that is everything in the public eye,..... public?

If I were to pick up my local newspaper there are stories along with pics of individuals. Most of them were posed shots so those individuals knew their pic would be published. There is also a public notice section that prints out when there are land transfers, marriage and divorce decrees, court appearances and traffic violations. There is even a listing for registered sex offenders and the addresses where they live.

I would want to know if there was a sex offender that lived near by. I think I have a right to know, but I got to wondering about the other things listed in the paper. Does anyone want or need to know that I have bought or sold property? Does anyone need or want to know when I get a speeding ticket? Is it worthy news or a real public service to others that I was going 5 miles over the speed limit in a construction zone area? No I haven't got a ticket lately, but it made me wonder why it was published at all?

Awhile back I was having lunch with my mom at a local establishment. We were up front at the counter placing an order and out of the corner of my eye I kept seeing flashes of light. I then realized that the person behind me was taking pics with his cell phone. Not just one or two pics, but several. I couldn't see what he was taking pics of but I had to wonder. Finally the manager came over to ask him what he was doing. He claimed he was taking pics of the place because he had at one time helped build the eatery. I looked him over. He looked like he was in his late 20's, in dress pants, shirt, and leather jacket. His hands didn't look like the hands of a tradesman. I didn't buy his story. I wondered more about his pics. Was he taking pics of the girl behind the counter? Was he taking pics of all of the people in line? If he was, he was only getting rear shots. It bothered me more and more as I thought about it. He hadn't asked anyone if he could take pics. What if he was taking pics of behinds in line? I started to obsess about my rear end, and why anyone would want to take pics of it. I started to have visions of my hind-end being put up on-line on U-tube in a documentary of the butts of the midwest. It bothered me. I felt like my privacy was being invaded.

Telemarketers know your phone number. Your number is traded back and forth and sold on lists to other companies all without your approval and knowledge. You can sign up for the Do Not Call list, but that does not apply to politics and charities. You will still get those phone solicitations from them. I think I get more phone calls now then ever before. I always ask them to take my name off their list after the second call. But there is always some new group calling without my consent. My phone number is privy information to them.

Anyone can get on a computer and look up someone. They can google for their address, any pics, they can even go to google-earth and get a pic of where someone lives. It's kinda neat, but at the same time kind of creepy. Most things are public knowledge or can be found readily available. It's hard to get true privacy. There are just so many means of opportunity out there. I don't have a problem with most of it, but some of it I do. I am not so sure if it is because I am all that private as a person, but because of not knowing the true intentions of others. Private, public, there is a blurred line on some areas and definite boundaries for others.

I start to think about that guy and his cell phone again. I hope in those pics he took, that if I happened to be in one, that I was having a good butt day. I'll try not to obsess about it. I will try not to pass a mirror and discreetly check my cheeks. After all they are a part of me and I can't very well go out in public without them. They follow me where ever I go......so much for privacy.

Happy Keester!

Entry for April 03, 2007 - Chicken...

I'm a chicken.

Yes I know, the pic up there at the top of my blog is not a chicken but a pic of an ostrich. I can be an ostrich too. I hide. Maybe not buried up to my neck in sand but I hide or hide my opinion. It's easier to hide and not make a comment or opinion that might not go over well. I hate controversy. I hate even more being in the middle of controversy. So that is why sometimes I will come across a blog that I have read and I will not comment on it. Well.....sometimes I do, but it will be some silly flip comment that really doesn't address the issure. It's that chicken part of me. The part that hates to make waves or disagreements.

In my Yahoo 360 blog searching, in the last couple of days I have come across some blogs in which the blogger had stated their feelings and opinions. One of those blogs I read late at night and I have to admit I sat back and thought....whoa. I didn't comment though. It was late at night and I thought better of it, that I should reread it in the light of day. So I did. I reread it and could sense the writers frustration but it still came off as harsh, maybe somewhat cruel. I read the comments posted and they were split down the middle and then I left without leaving a comment.....big chicken that I am.

I enjoy reading blogs where the blogger states his feelings on a subject. I admire their bravery at posting a blog that might cause controversy. I know also that we have a choice to read that blog or not read it or to post or not post a comment on it. Some days I know that I can not get out what I want to say in a fashion that makes it more smoothly digestible. Some days I stick my foot in my mouth, and I cringe.

Today I came across a blog that was political in nature. I hate politics. I try to steer from them. I was a chicken again. Oh I commented, but just a silly innane comment. I felt that if I were to post anything negative about my feelings on the president and his term(s) in office I might be considered unAmerican and then I would really be a chicken...or lumped with the chicks...those Dixie chicks.

I don't hate the president. I haven't protested or said unkind or negative things about him. But there are times I am very disappointed in his actions and choices that he has made. I think my country is the best country in the world. I think it's people are some of the best in the world also. That doesn't mean though that I am going to agree with everything my government does or say. We have so many opportunites here that can't be found in a lot of countries. I will be happier when those opportunities are granted to each and every person despite their income or race. A president is elected by the people, for the people and he is also answerable to the people. It's nothing personal against him. I just want to make sure that those elected officials are there for the good of the whole country and not for a few select individuals. I love my country. I support my country. I support the people who fight for my country.

I am still a chicken though. I couldn't type those words at that blog.

I got to thinking that I tell people I want to know them thru their blogs. It's difficult to know or get to know someone when they don't post opinions. Stories and jokes are fun to read, but it doesn't tell me about that person. I am guilty sometimes of that too. I post silly stuff and the only thing it could possibly tell you is that I have a warped sense of humor. I got to thinking about those blogs that I didn't comment on, and about my own blog. Perhaps there has been a blog or two you yourself have come across and were afraid to comment on. Perhaps you thought you would be ostracized, so you left quietly on tiptoes with nary a typo.

So today this blog is open for all the chickens in the 360 world ...and the non chickens. Type what you want, comment on what you will. Be truthful without fear of reprisal. Comment with your true feelings. Tell me things you have wanted to say but have held back. I won't think less of you, in fact I will think more of you for being completely honest.


Chickens and ostriches of the blog world........unite!

Entry for April 02, 2007 - 45 Things....

Yesterday was April 1st, April fool's day. Fancy that, a day just for fools, tom foolery, and foolish pranks. I didn't do any jokes or pranks, but I felt a kinship with the day. I have been foolish, done foolish things, and often wonder at my 'advanced' age when will I grow out of it? I have come to the conclusion that I don't think I am going to. Despite my best efforts I know that I am going to slip up, say something foolish or do something foolish eventually.

I remember as a kid doing pranks and getting a giggle from those pranks played on others, till they backfired and what was once just a silly prank ended up in a good scolding or a spanking. Today I don't have to worry about a spanking but my conscious does a good job on scolding me. I don't play pranks or jokes any more....well...hardly any.... but foolish mistakes, foolish choices, and foolish wishes still are a part of me. I thought that growing up and becoming an adult would change those things, but I think as we age we just get a new set of guidelines for being foolish.

I read a lot of blogs yesterday. Some serious, some not so serious. I try to take a path down the middle, to be serious sometimes, and full of mischief and silliness the next. Any newcomer to my blog might think it leans a little more to the foolish side and it probably does. That's just me...silly and foolish, but harmless for the most part. Surfing the web today I read on Dear Abby or Dear Annie or some other sibling or column of their's that today, April 2nd, they are continuing their tradition of "Reconciliation Day". I thought that quite appropriate, a day of mending fences after a day for foolish notions. I tried to think hard of who I need to make things right with,... and at the top of my head I couldn't think of anyone. Oh sure there are a few people I have lost my temper with, but we are still on speaking terms. There are a few regrets and some of the people that maybe I owe the most reconciliation with are no longer on this good earth. I was foolish not to see it then, but as I grow older I see it more clearly now, even with my specs.

Reconciliation Day... it's a good idea. Things that fester inside of us, words said, deeds done or undone they should be brought to the surface. Some fences can't be mended. Some friendships or family relationships can't be regained,... but your peace of mind can be. If you don't offer a hand with an olive branch the other person has nothing to grasp. A small effort can move mountains of emotions. Everyone deserves the opportunity to forgive or be forgiven. Not offering that chance or being open to it, is just plain foolish.


***The picture above is a an illustration by Norman Rockwell that appeared on the Saturday Evening Post for April 1943. In it there is suppose to be 45 errors, things that aren't right. Have fun trying to find them all.......and no, I don't have a list. If you claim you have found them all, I promise to be foolish enough to believe you....(smile)

Entry for March 31, 2007 - The Wukky Song...

For Wukky and all of those on his 360 blog trip -

(Sung to the tune of Yellow Submarine)



We sailed the open sea
To the land of our Wukky
To see wonders and the sights
Of the land of vegemite

Saw a wombat, a kangaroo
Wild dingos, a cane toad too
Our biggest fear, our biggest fright
Yellow jar of vegemite

We've all come to the land of vegemite
Land of vegemite, land of vegemite
We've all come to the land of vegemite
Land of vegemite, land of vegemite

Gathered round our billabong
Have a tinny-we sing this song
And the jar passed this way

We've all come to the land of vegemite
Land of vegemite, land of vegemite
We've all come to the land of vegemite
Land of vegemite, land of vegemite

Pinched our nose and took a taste
Spread on toast, a thin brown paste
Forced it down in one big bite
That Aussie love - vegemite

We all tried the jar of vegemite
Dark brown vegemite, salty vegemite
We don't like that stuff called vegemite
Icky vegemite, yucky vegemite

We've all come to the land of vegemite
Don't like vegemite, please no vegemite
Taste buds lost, killed off by vegemite
No more vegemite, keep your vegemite.

Entry for March 24, 2007- PEEP SHOW!

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(hover your cursor over the pics for the captions)

....What were you thinking?...

Okay the title was a blatant ruse to have you rush over to my rather sedate 360 blog page. In your search to find scandalous pics, you instead have been treated to of all things...peeps. Those oh so sugary marshmallow confections that crowd the market shelves at Easter time.

Marshmallow candy dates back from Egyptian times, where it was a honey based candy flavored and thickened with the sap of the root of the marsh-mallow plant. Until the mid-1800's marshmallow candy was made using the sap of the marsh-mallow plant. Today gelatin replaces the sap in modern recipes.

Marshmallows contain corn syrup or sugar, gelatin, gum arabic and flavoring. Hmmm, just think sugar. Peeps are sugar rolled in more sugar, a definite sugar rush if there ever was one. Surfing across the web I was surprised at how many peep afficinados there were. Peeps fall into the same category as twinkies, ya either love them or you hate them.

Perhaps one of the biggest debates on peeps are how to eat them. Some like the soft squishiness of the marshmallow, others prefer to let the marshmallow candy set out to "cure". The chewiness of the peeps is a matter of preference, some preferring their peeps almost crunchy.

Peeps aren't just for Easter any more, there are Christmas and Halloween peeps. There are chocolate peeps and sugar-free peeps according to the Just Born manufacturers of peeps. Thousands of Easter baskets this year will be containing the sugary delights in the shapes of chicks and bunnies, and in a variety of colors.

...and you just thought you were going to see porn.....

Entry for March 22, 2007 - Nine Million Years, and counting...

Time gets away from us, I was going to blog on this the other day but didn't get to it. Several blogs have been written about Spring officially arriving this week. Though you couldn't tell it here. For being the first day of spring, it was 40 degrees and overcast with a fierce wind.

Some things are a given. The change of seasons, life, death, rebirth, jellybeans at Easter, and the sandhill cranes migration thru Nebraska. Somewhere in my web surfing, I read that the migration of these magnificent birds had been going on for nine million years. I at first thought that had to be a typo, nine million years, it boggles the mind. I can't even think past tomorrow most days.

Nine million years. They come every year, for roughtly 6 weeks from the end of February till the first of April, in the largest concentration to feed in the fields and on the wetlands and marshes along the Platte river in Nebraska. Bird lovers across the globe come in their own migration to photograph and experience the moment. Many are hoping to catch a glimpse of a whooping crane migrating with the sandhills cranes. It can be an awe-inspiring sight to see the birds by the thousands with their large 5-6 foot wingspan. (Included up in my blast above, is a link to the National Geographic live cam, make sure and check their page for the best viewing times.)

Spring brings so many changes. After a long cold winter, it's a relief to see the earth coming back alive. The birds arrive, flowers bloom, trees and grasses start to green up and their is a sense of rebirth and renewal of life. It was on the official day of spring that I also read about in 360 the passing of Silverfox.
Silverfox (Al) was one of the very first people I met on 360. His blogs on life, and faith, and common sense hit home with those of us who were lucky enough to be on his friend's page. Al grew up in Nebraska and I was always going to ask him if he watched the migration of the sandhill cranes.

Time and people slip from us. Time flies, time drags, time is elusive. We can't reach out and grab it, and if we try to, we might look down and see those time-worn hands we don't recognize as our own that Hillbilly blogged about earlier this week on his 360 page. Now before you start to write and leave me comments about being down and depressed I want to impress upon you that is not the case.

It's spring,.... it's renewal,... it's about life and growing, and nine million years.

Things change, life changes, but I find it oddly comforting that the cranes will still be flying and spring will always come. We can try to mark a date on our calendar every year,..... we can't really pin it down to the exact time and date though,..... but it still comes.... and they still come.




*side note: The National Audobon Society has issued a warning for people living in Oklahoma for the migratation and influx of killer zombie turkeys.

Entry for March 13, 2007 - For Mahvin....

Where, Oh where, are you tonight?
Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the blogs over,
And thought I found Mahvin,
You're like a big zit,
and Phtt! You were gone....