LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

It’s funny what one will run across while looking for something else.  I didn’t even know we had these photos!  The year was 1984, and Amalie and I were on a Tauck tour in Canada.  The trip included Lake Louise, rafting on a river, and heli-hiking in the Canadian Rockies.  I wish I had more of the heli-hiking, but I do have these.
My, we were young!

Not sure where this was taken.

This may have been near Lake Louise.

Probably at the heli-hiking lodge.

What is neat about heli-hiking is that the chopper takes us up a mountain, and then we get to hike around; not up and down.

It was a chilly ride, and they had hot chocolate waiting for us when we landed.

Punny -

Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft, and I'll show you a flat minor.
When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.
The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.
A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

NETFLIXED

I haven’t been in a movie theater for some years, so I get my silver screen entertainment from Netflix.  This means that I am not seeing the very latest releases, but in some ways that is an advantage.  I can let others do the previewing, and then not wonder so much if something is worth my time.

Now the one I saw the other evening, Julia and Julie, wasn’t that old -- 2009.  And I thoroughly enjoyed it.  This is really two stories rolled into one movie.  Julia is Julia Childs, author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and TV cooking personality.  Julie is Julie Powell who took on the task of cooking all 524 recipes in one year in Childs’ book.  She did it - barely - and wrote a book about it.

And while I say I really liked the film, what held me absolutely entranced was Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Julia Childs -- complete with voice!  I could close my eyes and almost believe I was hearing Julia herself!  If you never heard Julia Childs on TV, you have no idea what I’m talking about.

***

In the dental department, the temporary partial is working quite well -- except for the glue I use to keep the teeth in my head while eating.  Oh the stuff certainly keeps things from wobbling around, but I end up with DentureHold (or whatever the stuff is called) all over the inside of my mouf, er,  mouth.  Yeah, don’t use so much.  Wobble, wobble.  But the really good news is that on June 22 impressions will be taken for my permanent denture.  I can hardly wait.

Cartoon --

How do you know when it is time to "hang up the car keys"?

When your dog has this look on his face!

THE DEEP

By Claire Nouvian
Extraordinary creatures of deep ocean.  Some species were photographed for the first time.

The Big Red.  Depth: 1500 meters    Size: one meter diameter

Dumbo octopus    Depth: 300 - 5000 meters    size: 20 cm

Benthocodon    (Looks like something from outer space.)

(no dimensions given)

Green globe sponge    Depth: 10 - 1200 meters    size: 12 cm height

Another Dumbo Octopus    Depth: 300-5000 meters    Size: Up to 1.5 meters

Glowing sucker octopus    Depth: down to 2500 meters       Size: up to 50 cm

Scaly Dragonfish        Depth: 200-1500 meters    Size: 32 cm

Telescope octopus        Depth:  100 - 2000 meters    Size: 30 cm

Ping-pong tree sponge    Depth 2600-3000 meters    Size: 50 cm height

ANGELS EXPLAINED BY CHILDREN

My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not much good for  science.
                Henry, 8

Angels don't eat, but they drink milk from Holy Cows.
                Jack, 6

Angels talk all the way while they're flying you up to heaven. The  main subject is where you went wrong before you got dead.
                Daniel, 9

When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath and counts to ten. And  when he lets out his breath, somewhere there's a tornado.
                Reagan, 10

Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy. If you lose a tooth,  an angel comes in through your window and leaves money under your  pillow. Then when it gets cold, angels go south for the winter.
                Sara, 6

SAVING THE DOGGIE

I don’t know how the dog came to be in the water, or where this takes place, but these photos tell quite a story.  There is no dialogue until the very end which, I suspect is made up.  Nonetheless ...

The German tourist jumped in, and saved the dog. 

After getting back up on the bridge, he checked the dog out, and told the owner, "Zer dog is OK, and vill be fine."

The owner thanked him, and asked him if he was a vet. 

He replied:  "Vet?  I am freaking soaked!"


Other fun --

MORE UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS

Shortest distance between two jokes:
A straight line

454 graham crackers:
1 pound cake

1 million microphones:
1 megaphone

1 million bicycles:
2 megacycles

2000 mockingbirds:
two kilomockingbirds

OOPS!

Some are more OOPS! than others.  All are intriguing.  Comments by guess who.

Well, I guess that isn't a draw bridge!

I told you, didn't I!  Too many bricks, and my front wheels come off the ground!

There's supposed to be FOUR wheels on the vehicle

You order 'em; we deliver 'em

I thought you took your bath this morning

You're in the wrong, uh, lane? dear

Turned out it wasn't a seaplane

Humor -

A COLD WINTER

It was autumn, and the Indians on the remote reservation asked their new chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was an Indian chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets, and when he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold. He told them that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared.

Being a practical leader, after several days, the chief had an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service, and asked, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?" "It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold, indeed," the weather man responded. So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood in order to be prepared.

One week later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. "Is it going to be a very cold winter?" he asked. The man at the National Weather Service replied, "Yes. It's going to be a very cold winter." Again, the chief went back to his people. This time, he told them to make sure and collect every scrap of wood they could find.

Two weeks later, he went back to the phone booth, and called the National Weather Service one more time. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?" he asked. "Absolutely!" the man replied. "It looks like it's going to be one of the coldest winters ever!" "How can you be so sure?" the chief asked. The weather man replied, "Because the Indians are collecting firewood like crazy."

VARIETY OF ANIMALS

This is a collection of animal life from various sources.

Big horned sheep

Party time!

White-tailed deer, even if you can't see the tail.

zzzzzzzzz

Monk seal

Grizzly (I think)

In these last four, it seems the cat let itself in for more than perhaps it expected.

Humor -

~ There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.

~ Did you ever notice that when you put the two words “the” and “IRS” together it spells “theirs”?

~ Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it's called golf.

THE JOKE'S ON ME

Today the joke is on top.

Cliff drove me to Avenidas yesterday morning.  Upon arrival, he parked and got out of the car to get my wheelchair.  I tried to get ready to leave the car, but found I had trouble moving.  Well, I'd had trouble standing up that morning, so that didn't terribly surprise me, except that I was trying to move sideways, not up.  Cliff took one look at me and said, "Unfasten your seatbelt."



Kay Weeks is a resident of our mobile home park, and submitted this poem for publication in our park magazine.  I was quite taken with it, and asked her if I could put it on my blog.  She agreed.

KITTENHOOD
By Kay Weeks

Around the room and up the drapes –
You teetered there wide-eyed.
“Oh, my gosh, what have I done?
Come rescue me!” you cried.

Safely down, you bit the fern
As if it was its fault,
Then off you raced, lickety-split--
A perfect somersault!

You teased the dog, knocked over a vase,
Pulled stuffing from a chair,
Then suddenly stopped to catch your breath
And demurely washed your hair.

With sleepy eyes, you looked at me
And curled up in the sun
To nap awhile and dream of all
The mischief yet undone

I watched you sleep and shook my head …
It must have been a dream
‘cause look at you all curled up there …
How innocent you seem.

I sipped my tea to calm my nerves,
I hope it does some good.
God grant me strength to see me through
This thing called kittenhood!

GOOGLED

If you were on Google on Saturday, you saw this.  But quite a news article also appeared:

South San Francisco boy wins national Google logo contest

A South San Francisco boy's kooky doodling has earned him a gallery of millions on the Internet.
Matteo Lopez, a second-grader at Monte Verde Elementary in San Bruno, designed the winning logo in the annual "Doodle 4 Google" competition, which drew more than 107,000 entries nationwide. On Friday, millions of Web surfers will see his logo on the home page of the Mountain View-based search company.

Matteo, 7, also has been awarded a $15,000 college scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for his school.
"I'm excited and happy," said Matteo, who with his mother attended Thursday's award ceremony at Google's New York City office and is scheduled to appear on NBC's "Today" show Friday morning.
"I like to draw a lot," he added in a phone interview. "I started drawing when I was 3½ years old."

This is the fourth Doodle 4 Google competition held in the United States. Similar contests have been held in other countries around the world, from Ireland to India.

This year's contest challenged students from kindergarten to 12th grade to come up with a logo inspired by the theme "What I'd like to do someday." The drawings were assessed by a panel consisting of Google's own team of "Doodlers" and 13 guest judges, including "Garfield" creator Jim Davis, "SpongeBob SquarePants" producer Paul Tibbitt and children's author Beverly Cleary.

Matteo's submission, titled "Space Life," morphed the Google name into a green alien licking the Earth, an astronaut working on a lunar module and other out-of-this-world portrayals. His creation reflects a desire to become a space explorer. His idol is astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon.  "I want to wear a space suit, fly in space, walk on the moon and make friends with aliens (on) other planets," he wrote in a description of his entry. That message may have resonated with NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, also a guest judge.
"His artwork really speaks to what he wants to do someday," said Alexander Davenport, a marketing manager with Google. "And it's quirky, fun and Googley. It captured our theme in a creative and relatable way.
             

Humor -

ANGELS EXPLAINED BY CHILDREN


I only know the names of two angels, Hark and Harold.
                 Gregory, 5


Angels work for God and watch over kids when God has to go do  something else.

                 Mitchell, 7

Everybody's got it all wrong. Angels don't wear halos anymore. I  forget why, but scientists are working
on it.
                Olive, 9


 It's not easy to become an angel! First, you die. Then you go to  Heaven, and then there's still the flight training to go through. And  then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes.
                Matthew, 9


AMAZING ANIMALS

Of various kinds.  Comments by Guess Who.

One heck of a sardine!

I'll jus' shleep it off.

Yyou ddon't sscare mme.

Take your time.  We're happy with leftovers.

He has his own water dish, you know.

How do I get that cat outta my house?

Horse laugh

You really should floss more

In case of flat tire, or foot, or...

Obviously this is different from a barrel of monkeys.

Fun -

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour:
Knot-furlong

10 cards:
1 decacards

16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone:
1 Rod Serling

Half of a large intestine:
1 semicolon

Basic unit of laryngitis:
1 hoarsepower

See you on Monday.