WHOA! WEDNESDAY!

So, what is this?  Clever video editing?  Flaming kites?  Synchronized meteors?  Or ALIEN INVADERS...showing off a little bit...  

This was taken on November 23, 2011, over Adygeysk, Russia.  I'm not finding any answers yet as to what these or this or they really are.   Let me know if you find out!

HAPPY TEARS!

If you haven't seen this, take a few minutes to feel better about life.  These Beagles were raised inside cages in a lab - never saw sun, never touched grass.  Rescued and moved to Los Angeles, they find out what they've been missing.  The music is corny, but the visuals are too sad and wonderful to miss!

AMAZING NATURE FRIDAY!

Some natural inspirations to take your mind off of the unnatural horrors of Black Friday!

National Geographic has this shot of the lightning cloud forming from a June eruption in southern Chile's Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano complex.

Check out this short (2 min) scene from the BBC's "Frozen Planet" series.  An icy finger of death is formed, freezing everything it touches on the ocean floor. 

I love bugs, and NG also has this story of a new albino spider discovered in Australia.  The 1 1/2-inch wide newby is being called the albino trapdoor until a formal name is announced.

And last, we Oregon coasters love our storms (our power was out for five hours with Tuesday's whopper which had Cape Blanco measuring gusts at 80-plus), so I knew you'd appreciate this September shot of a wave crashing against a Japanese breakwater during Typhoon Roke.

AMAZING 3-D MURAL SETS NEW GUINESS RECORD!!

Wow!   This sidewalk mural, with its tremendous 3-D imagery, just broke the world's record for largest 3-D Street Art (a record that had been previously broken just the week before in China).   This was done by the British art team Joe and Max,  who created this in London's Canary Wharf.  Check out the short video to see how they did it - it looks even better when the people are moving!

FREE FOR ALL FRIDAY!!

What a week!  We lost a munchkin, we have a new drug, and not even the skies are safe!

--Wizard of Oz Munchkin Karl Slover dies at 93

--Who knew the latest killer drug craze in Oregon would be snorting bath salts?  Leave it in the bathtub, people!!   Here's the story from Oregon.Live:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/11/doctors_police_see_more_abuse.html

--And not all the lousy drivers in LA County are on the roads.  You won't believe this!

LAW ENFORCMENT THURSDAY!!

(Supposedly) True story from a Kansas State Highway Patrol officer:

I made a traffic stop on an elderly lady the other day for speeding on

U.S. 166 Eastbound at Mile Marker 73 just East of Sedan , KS.

I asked for her driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance.

The lady took out the required information and handed it to me.

In with the cards I was somewhat surprised (due to her advanced age)

to see she had a conceal carry permit. I looked at her and ask if
she had a weapon in her possession at this time.

She responded that she indeed had a .45 automatic in her glove box.

Something---body language, or the way she said it---made me want
to ask if she had any other firearms. She did admit to also having
a 9mm Glock in her center console. Now I had to ask one more
time if that was all. She responded once again that she did have
just one more, a .38 special in her purse. I then asked her what
was she so afraid of.

She looked me right in the eye and said, "Not a damn thing!"

APPLE-CRANBERRY BREAD RECIPE!!

I recently scored this recipe for Apple Cranberry Bread.   Seems like the perfect thing for a rainy Tuesday!

2 cups peeled/chopped apples

1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons oil
1 egg
1  1/2 cups flour
1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease loaf pan.

Combine apples, sugar and oil in a medium bowl. Add egg, mixing well. Combine dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl. Add to apple mixture. Mix just until the dry ingredients are moist. Stir in cranberries and walnuts.

Spread batter evenly in loaf pan. Bake for 30 -40 min. or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.  Makes 1 loaf.

And don't blame the waistline on me!!

TREE PLANTING SUNDAY!!

This is the time of the year to start tree planting.  The best time is after a rain and before the next rain.  The ground is wet and easy to dig, and makes the perfect environment for the new growth. 

POETRY SATURDAY! LARRY'S LUBE!

LARRY’S LUBE

South of Bandon is not far to let Larry fix your car.

Tires and oil is his toil

Larry and his crew would rather sell you new, but can fix some with glue.

Here is a place with rack and pit, to make your car more fit.

Larry has a bunch of spares, for those of you too low on fares.

I’m the guy who collects junk tires, to build reefs for underwater flyers.

Some junk tires go for bunkers under which the sheep will hunker.

Tires are dense and make a good fence.

Some of the big turf type makes very good planter type.

The goal of this recital is to increase the recycle.

But if your cycle's broke, then Larry's your bloke.

PRUNING CHESTNUT AND RED CEDAR TREES!!

It's time for pruning!  And not the kind that happens after a too-long shower...

Your trees will really appreciate this small effort from you.  They'll grow stronger, and more uniformly, with some well-placed snipping. 

Here is a chestnut tree prior to pruning and the same tree after pruning. 

BANDON'S FIRST DRIVE-BY SHOOTING!

By now you've heard the news about the shooting of Jeremy "Buzzy" Platz on the 101 yesterday.  He's recovering in a Portland hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg.  The shooter is reportedly 70-year old Robert Walker of Bandon.  Rumors were rampant over the cause, but Oregon.Live is reporting that this was the result of a "long simmering marijuana dispute." 

To have this happen in Bandon is shocking.  To have this occur over this situation is hardly a surprise.

Here's a link to the Oregon.Live story:

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/11/long_simmering_marijuana_dispu.html

TEA TIME TUESDAY!!

I'm a member of the Tea Party.  Not the idiots who are trying to destroy our country ("No more entitlements, EXCEPT FOR ME!!!  No more government, EXCEPT FOR WHAT I WANT!!!  Freedom is my right, NOT YOURS!!!").    

This is the kind of tea that doesn't turn your stomach, but actually soothes it!