"I'm Ready For My Close-up."

Thought the bird might actually be a little more interesting to look at!

Trapping Last Season

What a thrill to hold a wild prairie falcon. Even for a few mintues. This was an adult, so I let him go just after the photo opp. I just came across this photo and it reminded me of why I love winter!

Cool Tunes Accoustic

Cool Tunes Accoustic: "1. No Air duet with Chris Brown (Acoustic Version) - Jordin Sparks"

Okay This is Just Cool!

More chalk drawings from Julian Beever. Scroll down slowly and stop at each new frame. Incredible!!!!!
Julian Beever is an English artist who's famous for his art on the pavement of England, France, Germany, USA, Australia and Belgium . Beever gives to his drawings an amazing 3D illusion.

People are actually avoiding walking in the "hole"

Which is the real guy & which beer is real?

The image below has been taken from a wrong angle:

Remember, both his feet in reality are flat on the pavement

Politicians Meeting Their End

World's Biggest Fly-Spray

This drawing of a Rescue was to be viewed using an inverting mirror

girl on a beach mat.

Make Poverty History drawing from the side(40 ft long)

Spiderman to the rescue

Batman and Robin to the rescue(SO COOL)

Splendid Irony

Jeffry Larson to Discuss Happiness During July 14 BYU Devotional

Headline and photo from today's BYU Homepage. Probably the greatest and happiest guy on the planet, but this photo caught him in the pre-smile stage and presents him as perhaps the last guy qualified to speak about happiness.

Shayne Clarke – Seat Broker

[Editors Note: We have a great new family that moved next store and attended church for the first time yesterday. I had an amusing thought, so wrote them the following letter and delivered it the middle of church. Good Friend Natalie, has suggested that I post more pithy things like this, so here it is.]

Shayne Clarke – Seat Broker

Welcome to the Ward.

Finding the right seating arrangement for your family can be challenging especially when you are new to a ward. Knowing who normally sits where and how many generations have occupied a particular bench can be tricky, and you should generally avoid fist fighting over a seat on your first day at church.

That’s where I come in. For a small fee (less that $495 a month) I will help you sit anywhere in the chapel you wish. I will bump someone out of a seat if the desired seat is filled.

I will also place you where you can be seen in the best light or perch you where you can see others the best. This is especially helpful if you wish to pass judgments on folks. (For another small fee I can also give you dirt on every member of the ward to jump-start your judgments.)

Please note: the Duffys sit on the second row. I placed them there for several reasons. First, John is aging rapidly and doesn’t see or hear well. Oh, he looks perfectly fine--runs triathlons and eats bran muffins--but it’s all show.

Second, Sheri sits there so she can flip the ears of the deacons if they don’t sing or if they snicker during the prayers.

The Duffys, are also more focused on the Celestial Pursuit than anyone in the ward, are closest to achieving it and frankly pay quite a bit more for their monthly seating fee. But as a service to you, being new and all, I can negotiate a rate which will put you on the second row, middle, no smoking, for around $895 per month.

Don’t worry; I will work it out with the Duffy’s so they remain friendly as neighbors even though you are sitting in their seats. They will be one row behind you so please don’t snicker during the prayer unless you want your ears flicked.

I can also give you information on the other quadrants in the chapel, quadrant presidents, and the advantages of each. For example, until you get a calling assigned, you may wish to sit in the right-hand quadrant where the Bishopric can see you marking your scriptures, looking pensive at each talk, and where your children sit quietly with their arms clear-duct taped and folded.

Again, welcome to the ward, we hope you enjoy yourselves and your seats for many years to come!

Sincerely,

Shayne Clarke

Seat Broker

What is the Deal with Blogging? Part II

I did it again. I assigned my class to create a blog or tap into their spouses’ blogs. Why would I do this? These for the most part are business students. And debit, they have accounting to figure out, information systems to systemize. Not to mention my class where they will remember the difference between clauses dependent and independent, and that the purpose of a resume is to get an interview, not necessarily a job. The job follows a good interview.

But blogging, I say, will help them be good writers? Really? Yes, I still believe it. Blogging is writing and a “Writer writes, always” (Billy Crystal from the film, Throw Mama From The Train.) Blogging can be little warm up exercises to write other stuff, or blogging can be a rant about something or a personal essay about something you care about.

Yes, and I need the nudge too. It is hard to tell my students to Blog when my own attempt at blogging here is a mish mash of mush mush. So I don’t pretend to be modeling good blogging (whatever that is) although perhaps I am modeling the exercise of figuring out what and how to write even as they are.

And just as it is for my students, it is the exercise I need to write other stuff.

What to write about? they ask. Just look around and react. Facebook, Twitter blogging and the rest amuse me right now because we are all trying to figure it out.

I jumped on Twitter just to see what all the excitement is about. It is the same reason I read Twilight. There was something big going on there and I wanted to see what it was. I read the rest of the series because I thought it was a cool story.

Twitter is a micro blog. It’s quick, it’s quirky and there are no quizzes to take.

What I like about Facebook, Twitter and blogging is when people share what they are thinking not just doing. It is the same reason I like personal essays or creative non-fiction.

I’ll jump over to Facebook right now and catch the latest “news”. Looks like someone has taken the test of “What Disney Movie Song Are You?” someone else is going to Oregon, while someone else is chewing on a quote about the Second Coming.

Of those reports, the most intriguing for me is the quote someone is chewing on. Blogs, Tweets, and Facebook entries where you learn that someone is brushing their teeth, or walking to work, or wondering why it is snowing (but not as much expressing thanks for the sunshine) or eating Mac and Cheese is just not that interesting. At least for me.

So write on we will. I hope our blogs become that chat around a good meal or fire pit where we share what is on our minds. Rant if you must, joke if you will, chew on hard topics, wrestle with a challenging idea, quote from your last favorite read, or just write about not being in the mood for any of that.

Or if you must, write about what you are doing.

Like right now, I’m eating a large bowl of Post Honey Bunches of Oats cereal. But not the regular kind—this one is “with real peaches”. It’s going to be a good day.