SNOW MOOSE

 Beautiful Snow Moose A must see.

You probably won't see this again in your life time!

Look behind the animal on the left.

It really doesn't matter what color the outside is
white chocolate or dark brown chocolate.

These animals were photographed just north of the Wisconsin border on a highway 

near Marenisco , MI

Humor -

LAWS OF THE NATURAL UNIVERSE, part 1
Law of Mechanical Repair:
After your  hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

Law of the Workshop:
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the  least accessible corner.

Law of Probability:
The probability of  being watched is directly proportional to the
stupidity of your act.

Law  of the Telephone:
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

HONEYCAT

I don’t know what got me thinking about this, but many years ago, when I was still living in San Francisco, I had a little female Siamese cat.  She was a beautiful little animal, and very sweet.  Unfortunately I have no photos of her, so I was looking online for some reasonable approximation, at least for color.

I named her Honey because she was, for the most part, the color of a dark honey, and I did usually refer to her as Honeycat.  The online photo here is a male and gives a pretty good idea of her color, as best I remember it.   After all, it has been close to 50 years ago.  As a female she was smaller and more delicate looking.

She and I got along pretty well.  I’d get home from work, and after dinner I’d sit in the lounge chair with my feet up on the ottoman.  She would jump up and sit on my legs.  I’d reach out to scratch her ears, and the purring would start.  Then she’d roll over on her back and demand to have her tummy rubbed.  And the purring sounded like an airplane warming up!  At night she would again sleep on top of my legs (on TOP of the blankets, thank you), and in the morning I would often find her curled around the top of my head!

There was a game she liked to play.  She would crouch down over on one side of the living room, and when I’d walk through heading to the kitchen, she’d race across in front of me, as if to say, “Ya can’t catch me!`”  One day I anticipated this, and when she started her dash, I reached down and scooped her up.  Smart cat, though.  The next time I came through, a few days later, I reached down to scoop her up, and she jumped right over my outstretched arm!  So there!


Fun -

SAN FRANCISCO, 1940

Oh my Heavens!  1940.  I was 10 years old, and these are sure familiar sights.  It may have been a year or two earlier when relatives came to visit us from Cincinnati - an Uncle Morris, I think.  Their train had ended in Oakland, of course, and they took the ferry across to the city where my dad picked them up.  Apparently they mentioned that they'd seen the new Bay Bridge, and what a lovely, graceful thing it was!  After dinner he took them in the car across that very bridge.  But they refused to believe that this huge 6 lane highway was that beautiful bridge they'd seen.

This is entering the bridge from the Oakland side which has the cantilever section of the bridge.  You can see the structure just about dead center near the top of the photo.  It's hard to see, but the Key System railroad tracks, which ran on the lower deck of the bridge, are off to the far left.  Some years later the tracks were removed, and the lower deck became one way east to Oakland, while the top became one way west into the City.

 

The builders cut a tunnel right through Yerba Buena Island.  One leaves the old cantilever section on the east side, and coming out of the tunnel, one is on the suspension side.  Given the volume of cars that use the bridge daily, one wag came up with this:  Yerba Buena Island has the largest underground temporary population in the world.

I never got to the top, but obviously the view is spectacular.

Great restaurants!

That's right at the corner of Powell and Market.  Occasionally some tourists would "help" turn the car around on the turntable.  I never did, but I certainly rode cable cars.

Occasionally we'd watch the boats coming back in.

Oh, those crabs were delicious!

 

This was taken somewhere up near the Cliff House, an upscale restaurant right above the ocean.

Too bad this isn't in color.  One time back in the 50's, I was on the streetcar going downtown and ran into an old high school chum.  He, too, had been in the army, and had been sent to Korea.  He was finally sent home on a ship, so I asked him what it was like to come in under the Golden Gate Bridge.  He said he couldn't even see it -- it was all fogged in that day!

Humor --

Money talks, but all mine ever says is “Goodbye”.
***
A friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg
even though they know you are slightly cracked.

See you on Monday.

A DELIGHTFUL THANKSGIVING

Old friends Russ and Sandy invited Cliff and me to their house for Thanksgiving.  We accepted with alacrity.  They suggested we come late morning to enjoy some snacks, watch some of the Macy’s parade, and then see one of their favorite Thanksgiving program, the show dog program.

Now their interest in dogs is not just from a distance.  They have two very lovable golden retrievers, Snickers and J.D.  They told us that J.D. can stand for Just Dog.

Sandy cooked an absolutely fabulous turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and if anyone went away hungry, it was their own fault.











I think that's J.D. pretending to be a lap dog.  Sandy doesn't seem to mind.  By the way, Sandy's apron reads, " Relish today; ketchup tomorrow".









I think Russ was a bit unhappy with what one of the dogs was doing.














That's Snickers "letting" me rub her head.  That's like saying Pepper "lets" me rub her head.  A bit later both dogs vied to have their heads in my lap!










Cliff and Snickers had fun playing tug-of-war.












Ah, a favorite position -- flaked out.









Fun -

Not very bright crooks --

THE GETAWAY!
A man walked into a Topeka , Kansas Kwik Stop and asked for all the money in the cash drawer.  Apparently, the take was too small, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until police showed up and grabbed him.

WHAT WAS PLAN B?
An Illinois man, pretending to have a gun, kidnapped a motorist and forced him to drive to two different automated teller machines, wherein the kidnapper proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts.

BIRDS OF A FATHER

As long as I get these fabulous photos, I will continue to share them with you.

Look at me!  I'm spreading my wings!`

Heavenly smile.

We're hungry!

I've got two legs!  Honest!

Gorgeous!

Going batty!

Thanks for the lift, Ma.

Humor -
During a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a woman went to the desk to ask for a pair of headsets for the audio guide.  Met supplies are free to those with hearing aids.  She said to the attendant, “One pair of earphones, please.  I’m hard of hearing.”  She gave me the earphones and said , “That will be $6, please.”  “But Miss,” said the visitor, “I’m hard of hearing.”  “Oh, I’m sorry.  SIX DOLLARS, PLEASE!”
***

Happy Thanksgiving!  See you on Friday.

STRANGE SKYSCRAPERS

These are strange, indeed.  My thanks to Diana.

Genex Tower, Belgrade, Serbia

It’s the third-largest building in Europe, designed to look like a huge gate greeting visitors as they arrive in Belgrade from the west. But Genex Tower is hardly a welcoming sight to many, called “phenomenally ugly” in more than one place on the internet and dismissed as one of the worst examples of Brutalist Architecture. The twin concrete towers, joined together by a revolving restaurant, are certainly among the stranger skyscrapers in the world.

Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang, North Korea

Is this the world’s ugliest skyscraper? Veiled in secrecy in North Korea, the Ryugyong Hotel sat in construction limbo for so long that people thought it had been abandoned. Its unusual triangular shape paired with a raw concrete finish made it a bit of a laughingstock among architecture enthusiasts, though recent changes since construction resumed have made it look a bit less severe.

Elephant Building, Bangkok, Thailand

Perhaps the architects who designed this bizarre building in Bangkok stepped back from their plans and thought, hmmm, this set of three concrete blocks needs something. We know – round windows for eyes and shapes that vaguely suggest ears and tusks! Or something.

Robot Building, Bangkok, Thailand

When you spot this skyscraper in the Bangkok cityscape, there’s no question of what it’s supposed to be. The Robot Building was designed for the Bank of Asia to reflect the computerization of banking and is one of the last examples of modern architecture in the city. Architect Sumet Jumsai, who reportedly found inspiration in his son’s robot toy, made the building so blocky as a protest against the neoclassical and high-tech postmodern architecture that was sweeping the world in the early to mid 1980s.

CCTV Headquarters, Beijing, China

This 44-story skyscraper, which serves as the headquarters for China Central Television in Beijing, earned the nickname “big boxer shorts” soon after completion in 2009 for its rather unusual shape. It’s described as a loop of six horizontal and vertical sections and figuring out how to translate the design into a structural reality was no easy task, especially in a seismic zone.

Torre Velasca, Milan, Italy

Why is that tower shaped like a mushroom? Standing tall in the city center of Milan, the Torre Velasca definitely contrasts with surrounding architecture, though it was designed to be a modern interpretation of typical Italian medieval castles when it was created in 1954. It’s a divisive presence in the city, with some residents regarding it with affection and others bemoaning its dominance of the skyline.

Kingdom Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

With its unusual keyhole design, the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh would be a standout even if it weren’t Saudi Arabia’s tallest skyscraper and the world’s second tallest mosque. Also known as Burj Al-Mamlaka, the Kingdom Centre was selected as the world’s most well-designed skyscraper in the 2002 Emporis Skyscraper Awards. The architects created the keyhole in the top in order to conform to city laws that don’t allow occupied floors above a certain height.

Lippo Centre, Hong Kong

Distinctive? Definitely. Dubbed the ‘koala tree’ for its resemblance to koalas clinging to a trunk, the Lippo Centre in Hong Kong is unlike any other office building in the world. American architect Paul Rudolph hoped to make these towers less severe with C-shaped clusters of windows that stand out in relief against the exterior.

Wooden Skyscraper, Archangelsk, Russia

Built by a single man out of an improbable material, Russia’s wooden skyscraper is believed to be the tallest wooden house in the world at 144 feet and 13 stories. Nikolai Sutyagin, a former gangster, spent 15 years continuously adding additional floors to his home because he was never satisfied with the way it looked. The structure is crumbling and neighbors worry about fire, but for now it’s certainly quite a sight.

Simon Rodia Towers, Los Angeles, California

Reaching over 99 feet into the air, the Watts Towers – also known as the Simon Rodia Towers for the Italian immigrant who spent decades building them – aren’t exactly skyscrapers. They’re more like towering sculptures. But the steel pipe, rod and wire structures are undoubtedly landmarks in the Watts district of Los Angeles and are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Norman Foster Gherkin, London, England

It’s been called Gherkin, Towering Innuendo and Crystal Phallus, but the unorthodox building that stands out like a sore thumb in London is officially known as 30 St Mary Axe. Designed by Norman Foster, the skyscraper was purchased for over a billion U.S. dollars, making it Britain’s most expensive office building.



Humor -

This is the story of a woman who was born in a small town,
grew up there,
lived there all her life,
went to the same church all her life.

But as she grew older,
she wasn’t always able to make it to church,
so occasionally the minister would come to visit her.

And one day, when she was really getting up in years,
the minister said to her, “You know, you’re getting to that
point in life when you should start thinking about the Hereafter.”

“Oh, I do, Reverend, I do!” she said.
“I walk into a room, and I think to myself ...
‘What am I here after?”

***
Please note:  Thursday, as you all know, is Thanksgiving.  We will be gone all day, so will post Wednesday, Friday, and then I'll see.

VARIOUS WILDLIFE

These are a bit unusual.  Once again you can blame the captions on me.

Hey, don't crowd!  You guys ready for the Bird Chorus?

Where's the waiter?  I've been waiting more than five minutes!

Let's dance!

I'm just teaching my youngster how to get in and out.

My, you're a sweet little girl!

Ain't we cute!

Hey, shoo!  Beat it!  This is my nut!

Dinner time!

Long necks -- two different species.

Fun -

What do you call a frog that crosses the road, jumps in a puddle, and then crosses the road again?  A dirty double-crosser.

***
I've heard that God promised women that they would find men at all four corners of the earth.  And he made the world round.