Showing posts with label Looking At The Sky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Looking At The Sky. Show all posts

Peace - Sky - High...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, October 09, 2009 28 Of Your Sparks

PLEASE SEE UPDATED NOTE BELOW IN THE STORY ABOUT MARIJUANA...











Remember, only 26 days until the BlogBlast For Peace. Get your Peace Globes going…

You can find your template HERE.

You can read about Papa’s blue marble in the wooden bowl on the piano HERE

And please take a few minutes and read Mimi's post from last year entitled "The Doll Box" HERE...don't forget your tissues...

Join us on Facebook HERE

Follow us on Twitter HERE

Join us on Blogger Unite HERE

We even have an iPeace Group HERE

See...we are all over and not to join us would make you a nanni-nanni-poo-poo-head...

Say a prayer for Mimi and her family please...



OK, per the brilliant suggestion of PHFRANKIE BONDO of "Steamboat Slough", we are only putting 2 posts on the front page...Let's see if that clears up some of the loading problems...let me know if you see a difference please...


Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.

Back to Jamaica...a sunset that never blossomed due to the storm clouds on the horizon, but still gave me a photo opportunity...ENJOY



Saw a real interesting program on CNBC last Saturday night. Only caught the last 35 minutes of it, but the title was "Marijuana: Inside America's Pot Industry". It was an excellent look inside this tens of billion dollar industry and some of the areas where it is becoming more and more acceptable.

It focused on California's "Emerald Triangle" in Mendocino County, which is described as the center of the Marijuana industry in the U.S.

They also interviewed Bruce Perlowin, who in the 70's ran the biggest smuggling operation, running hundreds of tons of pot under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He was eventually caught because he left a notebook with all his records in a freakin Denny's. Figures, stoned out and having the munchies and he does something stupid! LOL

But I was most interested in The Blue Sky Cafe in Oakland, CA...The cafe is modeled on the 'coffee shops' of Amsterdam and the area of the city they are located in has been dubbed Oaksterdam. If I remember correctly, they pay upwards of $3,000,000.00 in taxes a year and that is one store!

The show will air again on the 22nd at 8:00pm if you are interested.

I am totally in favor of the decriminalization of marijuana and have always felt that an individual should be able to cultivate 5 plants per calendar year. Now, if you are caught selling your marijuana, there should be criminal consequences...but if it is for your use...no harm, no foul.

But think about allowing stores to sell like The Blue Sky Cafe and the amount of tax money collected. Add to that the amount of money the government will save if it stops trying to eradicate Marijuana (estimated at $42-BILLION/year). The federal deficit could be wiped out within 5 -10 years.

It is time we stop the silliness...there is no evidence that if you smoke marijuana you will end up a heroin addict. Sure if you ask the heroin addicts if they smoked pot, most will say yes, but ask pot smokers if they have tried heroin and the majority will say no.

LOGIC people!

The winter Olympics are going to be held in Canada this year in Vancouver. Know what they call Vancouver? The Amsterdam of North America. Though not legal, the Vancouver police rarely bother people for possession of small amounts of pot and there are 'coffee shops' in the Hastings area of the city.

Did you know there are now 13 states where the possession of marijuana is not a criminal offense?

COUCH NOTE: After reading Phfrankie's comment, I must point out that these are all states where MEDICAL Marijuana is decriminalized. But that said, I have been told by those who are on the program, it is pretty easy to get a card in many places...



YO NANCY...wanna move?

HAVE A GRAND WEEKEND!

A Challenge, A Sky and A Birthday...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, October 02, 2009 15 Of Your Sparks

On November 7th, 2006 I became part of a very special group. A group of bloggers who took the idea of a woman many of us did not even know and we began to try and change the world one blog at a time.

We were a small group back then...and each year we grow stronger and stronger. There are some who scoff and say "What can my putting a Peace Globe on my blog do?" I ask to those people, "If you don't participate in BlogBlast For Peace and put a Peace Globe on your blog, then nothing at all can be done."

One hand, holding another and then another and soon there are thousands of hands and then tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands and soon we can have millions.

You can stand on the sidelines and snicker and say "It can't help" or you can step up and join in and find out what we can do as one

This November 5th, just a short 33 days from today, we will celebrate three years of BlogBlast For Peace and Peace Globes and the call Dona Nobis Pacem. Three years of spreading the word about a blue marble sitting in a bowl on top of a piano and how that blue marble inspired one woman to stand up and ask the question "What can we do to stop the proliferation of violence throughout the world."

That woman MIMI of "Mimi Writes" inspired a few back then. And I was lucky enough to have found out about it and joined. Many of you who sit on The Couch heard my call and joined in...Now there are Peace Globes all around the world...literally - over 40 countries were represented last year.

So scoff if you must...stick your head in the sand and say "A Peace Globe on my blog will not make a difference"...I say "BULLS**T...we have already made a difference."

Each day until November 5th, we will remind you of this great event. Mimi is dealing with a personal situation and yesterday my most excellent friend TRAVIS from "Trav's Thoughts" and I decided that we must take up the challenge while she tends to her situation.

If you would like to help Mimi, then each day for the next 33, post a small message on your blog promoting BlogBlast For Peace..she has done so much for so many people in so many ways...it is now time for us to help her in her time of need.

Get your Peace Globe template HERE. And if you need help putting your Globe together, send me an email at yoursbond@yahoo.com and tell me what you want it to say and I will assist you.

The first year, I did not even have a Peace Globe, but I had words that meant something to me...and lyrics from two songs that resonated for me that year. That post can be found HERE.

What will your blog say on November 5th, 2009 and will it make a difference in the world?



Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.
As I mentioned, I have many sky shots from Jamaica. This was early in the morning, as no one was on the beach as of yet...The cloud formation looked so threatening, yet so passive. It reached so high into the sky...

Enjoy...



OK, I will admit upfront...I stole this from our birthday gal, who used to to celebrate the birthday of another of our shoe-loving friends Turnbaby...

But I did a google search for "birthday cake, shoes" and dang it if it did not pop us...so I changed then name and there ya go...

Please head over to visit our wonderful friend ANNDI of "Anndi's Transition" and wish her a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Her special day is tomorrow...so make sure you stop by...



HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Sky High...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, August 07, 2009 25 Of Your Sparks


Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.

SHooting some pictures one day around Nancy's neighborhood and using the wide-angle attachment, it allows me to 'frame' the shot.

A brilliant blue sky and some high puffy clouds...



And Atlantic Rhythm Section gives us "Sky High"

ENJOY...



HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Sky and Rant...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, July 24, 2009 18 Of Your Sparks


Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.

Outside my apartment, near the dumpster, they have some wild grass growing. I guess this is to take away from the not-well maintained dumpster.

The other day the sky was just a brilliant blue with big puffy clouds lazily making their way across the sky and I walked out and snapped some shots.

This is one of them. I liked the composition of the single stalk of wild gras framed by the white cloud and rich blues.

I call it "Blowing In The Wind" - as always clickie to biggie





Talking to one of my fraternity brothers yesterday and he is telling me of a couple of guys who are coming down for the day in September...I say "Well, I have not gotten their RSVPs yet"...his response was perfect "Hell, these are TKEs, do you expect them to send them in?"

And we laughed...except in so many ways it is not funny. I get it for parties and stuff, but when you have to give counts to caterers and make sure there is enough seating and booze...well...

When you receive an invitation if there is an RSVP, do you wait until the last moment or do you send in immediately?

If there is no RSVP, do you still call the host to say yes or no to your attendance?

I have always been anal in that I want to respond within two days. Now, of course that is not always possible. HECK-A-DOODLE, Nancy and I did not decide to go to ConFab 09 until the day we left, but I had also been talking to the hosts all along discussing the dilemma we had with that weekend.

Sorry for the rant...

I will make it up by leaving you with a medley of Four Tops songs....

ENJOY...


A Birthday...A Sky & A Rocking Memory...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, July 17, 2009 11 Of Your Sparks

My birthday reminder was late for this one.
Please go over and wish DANA from "Amid Life's Crises"
A big old

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

She celebrates tomorrow!



Sitting here staring at the screen and just not coming up with a usually brilliant idea to post.

I don't have any interesting sky shots - though I probably could walk outside right now and get one. The sky is breaking up into a rich blue at 5:32pm CDT on Thursday, after we were greeted with torrential downpours and lightening and thunder overnight though about 1:00pm today.

In fact, the electricity went out sometime overnight and the skiy was pitch black this morning so I was a tad late to work. The alarm never went off and the light from outside was non-existent.

Be right back...

OK, I am back and it is only 15 minutes later...


Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.

This is what the sky looks like facing South-East, the sun back behind me about 45 degrees, which is why there is a tiny lens flare on the right side.


Did a Tuneage Tutelage on this band back on August 1, 2007. And that post was actually the first with the designation of TUNEAGE TUTELAGE.

One of my fondest memories are back in college - Friday afternoon in the fraternity house (we occupied the fourth and fifth floors of a 5 story dorm...opening the glass double doors - that led to a 1 foot wide balcony, guarded by a four foot high rail - today they would be top to bottom -

"Don't let little Johnny jump off when he gets his first B and
mommy and daddy can't get the big mean professor change it!"


Sorry, got off on a rant there, didn't I? Anywhoodle, where was I..

OH yeah, open the glass doors that look out on the quad below with students beginning to mingle around planning the weekend...and the speakers would be turned outward, and I would walk into my room (where the stereo was located - of course), and crank this mother up!

The opening guitar riffs would burn out of the speakers and those down below would begin a cheer...For the next few hours we supplied the soundtrack for chatting, Frisbee, hackie sack (ugh), drinking and other personality altering substances.

This song became the call for weekend in the Sol Heumann Quad at R.I.T.






Guess I came up with something after all...whether you enjoyed...is up to you

HAVE A GRAND WEEKEND!!!!!



A Birthday, A Sky & A New Game

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, July 10, 2009 10 Of Your Sparks


Please take a moment and head over and wish my good friend ANGELL from "Angell'z Secretz" a wonderful BIRTHDAY!


Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.

Going back to last October...Lake Meade from atop the Hoover Dam and a brilliant blue sky - OK, it is a sliver of the sky...but there is SKY!


It has really been a tiring week between work and the activities surrounding a certain day in September and well, just life...

I have made it to your blogs every day this week, so that is a good thing!

Have not really had a chance to do much photography, though we did take some pictures this weekend of Nancy and I for use in the upcoming weeks.


I thought this might be fun for a Friday...here is the deal...we have some quotes below and it is your assignment to figure out which quote belongs to one of the following people. Now, I will tell you that all of them may not be represented below...then again they all might be!

Go on...take the challenge..this post is here on top until Monday.

So without further ado...it is time to play:



Rules are simple. Each quote is numbered. In comments, put the letter of the person you think spoke the quote next to the number of the quote. We will come up with an appropriate prize for the winner and in case of a tie we will cut the prize in pieces numbering the winners! No, really, we will come up with something!


Our 'guest' speakers today are:
A) Joe Biden
B) Sarah Palin
C) Dick Cheney
D) Hillary Clinton
E) Barack Obama
F) George W. Bush



  1. "We've got a lot of relations with countries in our neighborhood."
  2. "It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you."
  3. "In the Bible it says they asked Jesus how many times you should forgive, and he said 70 times 7. Well, I want you all to know that I'm keeping a chart. "
  4. "As a nuclear power - as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon - the United States has a moral responsibility to act. "
  5. "You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.... I'm not joking."
  6. "You got to have people at the top who respond to and are selected by presidents."
  7. "They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan."
  8. "The fact is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers."
  9. "The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they're not."
  10. “Because our military power dwarfs that of other countries - we spend more on defense than the rest of the world combined - this Administration believes that alliances and international institutions are more of a burden than a benefit. They allow the Lilliputians to tie down Gulliver.”


I probably played this somewhere in the past, but it just came on while I was finishing the post, and HECK-A-DOODLE I just had to share it...

To find out who it is, well, you have to follow the H-A-D link...






LATSF...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, June 19, 2009 11 Of Your Sparks


Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.

Wednesday night the sky was so clear, except for all these puffy clouds.

I grabbed the new camera and the 18-55mm lens and the tiny tripod I also received. Set up on the front steps of Nancy's home and began shooting. (all biggie by clickie)

First is the camera set to 1/4 of a second exposure and the aperture set to 3.5. Not what my eyes were seeing - way too dark - but perfect for a night of telling spooky stories.

Next, I set the exposure to 4 seconds and what you see in the sky is a plane which had just taken off from the Memphis Airport (maybe a FedEx flight). I thought it was still too dark...

Then I moved the camera and shot for 8 seconds and the picture became almost daylight. The yellow cast on the right is from a street light.

Finally, I went back down to 4 seconds and this is the result.


I also got about 5 RUBY TUESDAY posts out of the evening, so we will begin sharing them soon.


This is off the Target Exclusive CD - a bonus track if you bought your CD there - ...I know Matt-Man will not listen (he has no taste), but give it a click and hear a fantastic song by a talented young man..."Indiscriminate Act Of Kindness"



HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL!


LATSF...and road tunes

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, June 12, 2009 18 Of Your Sparks



Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.

Sitting outside on Nancy's back deck this past weekend. A full moon lighting the world around us.

I probably should have grabbed the tripod, but they were all at my apartment!

Click to big





Are we going or not? Nancy and I are still trying to figure out if we can jump in the car today and head 6 hours Northeast...

I keep getting these text messages complaining that there are too many women coming and he needs more men - why do I find that somehow unsettling????

LOL


With that in mind...a couple of road songs for y'all this Friday...










OK, I call SUMMER Friday!

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, June 05, 2009 17 Of Your Sparks


Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.

This one is also from my trip south to assist Nancy when she forgot something on her business trip about a month or so ago.

Cruising down I78 South...I turn my head to see the sky off to my left.

Grab the cell phone and clickity click and this is what I got.

I love the swirls of the clouds along the horizon...the sweeping segment of cloud coming into the photo right to left...and above all the nastiness, the blue sky calls out that better days are ahead.

All I did was crop out some of the bottom of the original to focus in on the clouds.

Looks like next week I get to place an order.... WOOOO!

Oh this gets much bigger by clickity clicking.




Thanks to everyone who went over and visited HOPE RADIO , and hopefully you were able to assist in their efforts.

ALso, I know a bunch went over and signed the petition to ensure the passage of the BREAST CANCER PATIENT PROTECTION ACT. If you haven't, take a few minutes and do so now...



IT'S THE WEEKEND!

Fire up the grill...crack open some cold brewskis...char some animal flesh and have a grand time!

Because, even though the calendar might not be saying it yet, it is officially right around the corner....yes kiddies...SUMMERTIME!!!!!!!!

SO..for the weekend...and for the summer...Man, I could have made this a 1-2 block of just songs with SUMMER in the title. What is your favorite SUMMER song and which is what song reminds you of SUMMER most?


Summertime - Janis Joplin & the Kozmic Blues Band
(Live - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - 04/01/69)
Summer Wind - Frank Sinatra
Boys Of Summer - Don Henley
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams

ENJOY.......

LATSF and some humor...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, May 29, 2009 14 Of Your Sparks


Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.

At the ball field last Saturday evening...After a day of on and off rain...this is off the cell...
HECK-A-DOODLE...soon I will not be saying that - new camera coming and all!




I received two emails this week, both containing joke and I really liked them...and at the end of one of them was this statement:

Soooo...Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep
forwarding jokes to us
without writing a word.

Maybe this will explain.
When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do?
You forward jokes.
When you have nothing to say, but still want to
keep contact?
You forward jokes.
Also to let you know that you are still
remembered,
you are still important, you are still loved, you are still
cared for,
guess what you get?
A forwarded joke.


So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent just
another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your
friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile.

And I thought...hummmm...isn't that a nice thought. I have one e-mailer who blankets my email with every rumor, innuendo and joke that makes it's way into the internet.

Fortunately, he uses an email address I rarely use and I mass delete...and I am almost postive he does not know about tThe Couch!....

bwahahaahahahahaahahahahahaaaa



A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?' 'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered. 'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked. Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up.? The man gestured, and the gate
began to open. 'Can my friend,' gesturing toward his dog, 'come in, too?' the traveler asked. 'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.'

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book. 'Excuse me!' he called to the man. 'Do you have any water?' 'Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.' 'How about my friend here?' the traveler gestured to the dog.

'There should be a bowl by the pump.' They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.When they were full, he and the dog walked
back toward the man who was standing by the tree. 'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked.

'This is Heaven,' he answered. 'Well, that's confusing,' the traveler said. 'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too?' 'Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope.
That's hell.''Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?' 'No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'

Remember that prayer "Lord, please let me be half the person my dog believes I am"!



The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert. After they got their Tent all set up, both men fell sound asleep. Some hours later, Tonto wakes The Lone Ranger and says, 'Kemo Sabe, look towards sky; what you see?'

The Lone Ranger replies, 'I see millions of stars.'

'What that tell you?' asked Tonto.

The Lone Ranger ponders for a minute then says, 'Astronomically speaking, it Tells me there are millions of galaxies. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Meteorologically, it seems We will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, the Lord is all Powerful and we are small and insignificant.

What does it tell you, Tonto?'

'You dumber than buffalo. Someone stole tent.'

Thanks for the laugh baby



OK, so maybe you have seen them already, but without the jokes, my playing this great great oldie might not have as much impact! From the BEE GEES, before the break out of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack...when they were more Pop than bop...from their third album Idea, this song reached #6 here in the US in 1968. And as a bonus, from the soundtrack of the horrid movie ZOOLANDER (I know someone will tell me I am crazy and it is a classic),
THE WALLFLOWERS
version of the song..."I Started A Joke"

ENJOY....HAVE A FABULOUS WEEKEND!





Honors, Skies and Fear On Friday...

Sparks Of Insanity By Vinny "Bond" Marini Friday, May 22, 2009 23 Of Your Sparks

Ah the weekend...weather has been glorious...but no Sunset Symphony this year. The baseball schedule conflicts and priorities are in order...


What are you doing for this long weekend? Whatever it is, PLEASE remember to honor those men and women who have fought for our freedom for the last 233 years.

Last year our Memorial Day Tribute included a lesson on the folding of Our Flag. You can find that post HERE.

I found this image over at The Soapbox Queens and just loved it.



Stay safe this weekend and hopefully, when you are outside enjoying your time of reflection, the sky will not look as ominous as this picture I took from behind the wheel of the car, heading south on US78 in Mississippi one day some weeks ago. My darlin' Nancy needed something for a presentation and I mounted my trusty steed got in my car and drove it down to her.

This was the sight I had to contend with the entire ride - but luckily, the storm was also heading south and stayed ahead of me the entire drive.


Clickie For Biggie - They Need It


Now, all I did was add a ton of contrast to this version of the shot.
Why? because the cloud formation just over the tree-tops
on the left and into the center of the roadway up ahead
is spectacular IMHO. It looks like I painted
that in, but I did not. Other than adding contrast,
this is right out of the camera.

What do you think?


Check out "Looking At The Sky Friday" participants by clicking on the banner above and heading over to Crazy Working Mom's site.


Please folks...you must help...The disease is spreading. People who have never visited THE BAGWINE, are making pilgrimages to worship at the new, nice (gives me shivers to just type that), MATT-MAN.


Do you really want THIS.....

To Turn Into THIS???????


Please call
1-666-ReleaseHisSoul
to help.

Music On The Couch