‘I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order’

image  quote by John Burroughs

Oscar winner Cliff Robertson dies in NY at 88

Cliff Robertson, who played John F. Kennedy in "PT-109," won an Oscar for "Charly" and was famously victimized in a 1977 Hollywood forgery scandal, has died. He was 88.

His later roles included kindly Uncle Ben in the "Spider-Man" movies. His triumph came in 1968 with his Academy Award performance in "Charly," as a mentally disabled man who undergoes medical treatment that makes him a genius — until a poignant regression to his former state.

PT 109 image

Pug who ate, pooped 100 rocks is contest front-runner

If pooping out rocks was a skill, a pug from Rhode Island would be the most talented dog in the country.

Instead, Harley the pug will have to settle for a potential “Hambone Award,’’ given out annually by Veterinary Pet Insurance. Each year since 2009, the company has nominated the 12 most unusual and outrageous pet insurance claims that it receives out of tens of thousands. The award is named after a dog that was stuck in a refrigerator and chowed through an entire Thanksgiving ham before being found. The good news is, all nominees made full recoveries and received their insurance money for eligible expenses.

NBC Twitter acount hacked, girl saves her mother’s life twice, and SF eyes ordinance for naked bottoms

Good Morning Humboldt County!

What a great start for the day. The sun is shining early and it’s going to be another day in paradise! I’m glad you could stop by. Pull up a chair and have a cup of coffee with me as we look at a trio of stories ripped from recent headlines. I had no idea it was okay to walk around naked in San Francisco, or anywhere in America for that matter. You learn something new everyday I guess.

FBI probes hacking of NBC News' Twitter account

The FBI is investigating the NBC News Twitter account hacking committed by perpetrators who posted bogus information about the hijacking of a civilian airliner that supposedly crashed into Ground Zero in New York, officials said Friday night.

A posting on the NBC News Twitter profile accompanying the attack indicated the perpetrators may have been members of a new group of cyber pranksters known as "The Script Kiddies," whose main goal appears to be targeting mainstream news organizations. 

The postings were swiftly taken down minutes after they appeared on the main NBC News Twitter account — a tightly controlled account for which only three NBC News executives have the password. Anchor Brian Williams read a statement on the NBC Nightly News Friday night disclosing the attack, adding that the network was "working with Twitter to correct the situation" and apologizing "for the scare that could have been caused by such a reckless and irresponsible act."

Fourth-grade girl saves mom's life twice

Nine-year-old Sadie Sipes is a champion. A wall of her burned-out home displays trophies she's won for everything from beauty pageants to hunting. Now Sadie can add "hero" to her list of accomplishments. It was early Friday morning, and Sadie and her mom Stephanie Sipes were asleep inside their home in Linden. At around 4:00 a.m., the fourth grader awoke to the sound of smoke detectors going off. But her mother was sound asleep, ill, and not easy to arouse.

"I told momma and she thought it was just my brother's alarm clock and then she told me to go back to sleep," said Sadie Sipes. But the alarms kept blaring, by now Sadie Sipes was smelling smoke and terrified for her mom. "I had to shake her for a little bit because she was sick and then after I finally got her woke up she smelled smoke too," said Sadie Sipes. The whole back side of the house was in flames. The two made it out and ran next door to a neighbor's to call Sadie's dad and 911."I couldn't be more proud of her she's a very brave girl," said Will Gillioun, Sadie's dad. But the child's bravery didn't end with the fire. Three days after the blaze, Stephanie Sipes had trouble breathing and passed out at a motel room where she and her daughter were staying.

"I walked out of the motel door I just fell out," said Stephanie Sipes. Once again, Sadie Sipes took control, running back into the motel room and trying to call 911. The call didn't go through because she needed to dial "9" first. Motel staffers called for help when Sadie Sipes dialed zero.

Ordinance would cover naked bottoms

In the San Francisco Bay area where tolerance is king, it is a rare politician willing to clamp down on citizens who let it all hang out. But San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener stepped into that position earlier this week when he introduced an ordinance that would require nudists to cover their seats in public places and wear clothes in restaurants.

Public nudity, he explains, is legal in San Francisco and in recent years a group known informally as Naked Guys have shown unbridled enthusiasm for appearing in the nude."I see it pretty regularly, and unfortunately there are nudists who are not doing what they should," Wiener told Reuters. The nudists, who expose themselves most often in the city's famous gay neighborhood, the Castro District, have got Wiener and others worrying about public health. "I'm not a health expert, but I believe sitting nude in a public place is not sanitary," he said. "Would you want to sit on a seat where someone had been sitting naked? I think most people would say, 'No.'" Wiener, who represents the Castro neighborhood, said he hears from merchants who fear the public displays may drive away customers, hurting the business' bottom lines.

That's particularly true in restaurants. He acknowledged that he has not seen any research establishing a health risk. "But when you have your orifices exposed in an eating establishment, a lot of people don't like it," he said.California does have legislation against indecent exposure. But the law is lenient enough that it has barely affected San Francisco's current coterie of flaunters. Weiner's proposed ordinance will next be assigned to a committee, and Wiener expects a public hearing within months. Clothing required.

Time to walk on down the road…

Here’s some “Trashy” Art by Tom Deninger…

 Tom Deninger is an artist from Bristol. His artworks speak for themselves.

Check out the models created from nothing but trash.

I can’t believe how super-realistic they seem.

GOP Voted For $50 Billion To Rebuild Iraq Without Cuts, Now Insist On Cuts To Offset Funding To Rebuild America

The recent unprecedented onslaught of natural disasters has left already cash-strapped states with a record $36 billion in damages. Ten different natural disasters have struck in 2011. According to FEMA, damages from Hurricane Irene alone will cost at least $1.5 billion in disaster relief — and the hurricane season isn’t over.

This disastrous year is also the year that many Republican lawmakers have also decided to break precedent and demand that much-needed disaster relief be offset with cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.

(Photo - Wildfire damage in Texas) Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) vowed to quickly usher $6 billion in emergency disaster relief for states through the Senate. However, even as wildfires obliterate more than 1,000 homes in his state, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) insisted that those funds be offset because “we can’t keep spending money we don’t have.” Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), whose state has suffered “millions and millions of dollars” in wind and flood damage from Hurricane Irene, simply demanded that “we’ve got to offset everything“:

“We can’t keep spending money we don’t have,” said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, where deadly wildfires have charred tens of thousands of acres and destroyed more than 1,000 homes. [...]

“I think we’ve got to offset everything; anything that’s not allocated has got to be offset these days. It shouldn’t delay it,” Burr told POLITICO. “There’s hundreds of billions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse that could be accessed like that.”

This purist principle did not stop both Cornyn and Burr for voting to fund rebuilding efforts in Iraq without a single offset. Indeed, Cornyn voted against delaying $20.3 billion in Iraq infrastructure funds even though the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) noted that such a payment would increase the budget deficit. Overall, the U.S. has spent $44.6 billion in taxpayer funds on rebuilding Iraq through emergency supplemental bills — and not a penny was cut from elsewhere in the budget.

Cornyn and Burr’s position — first espoused by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) — is so callously out of touch that even fellow Republicans are slamming the idea. After enduring serious bipartisan backlash, Cantor is now gun-shy. Calling Reid’s emergency funds bill “unprecedented,” he is not clearly taking a stand against it.

Article source

Reflections: I was only 19 when I went to the Nam – the same as this Aussie soldier named Dave

Legendary Dave is an Aussie who fought with the US in Vietnam.

A friend sent me this video today, and it’s brought back a few memories from my experiences with Aussies in the Nam.

The video says it like it is. For example, the part about Agent Orange. A lot of people don’t realize how many Aussies fought alongside us in Vietnam and who were also exposed to that deadly defoliant.

I had a short mission – four days – assisting an Aussie unit in building a forward outpost in the bush. Those guys sure had a great sense of humor.I admit at times I couldn’t quite make out what they saying with their heavy accents but it didn’t matter.Their body language and easy laughter was infectious. Unlike most Americans in Vietnam who were minorities or from the poorer classes, the Aussie’s were mostly Caucasian.

We had many things in common, but the thing that stood out the most was our mutual disgust with the war we were fighting. None of us thought we were protecting freedom for our countries. It all came down to survival. You did what you had to do…no matter what.  

Otter love, the nation most tolerant of sex scandals, and a man dressed as Gumby tries to rob liquor store

Good Morning Humboldt County!

Welcome…step right in and have a cup of joe with me. This morning’s roundup ought to get at least one smile out of you! You may be surprised to find out that France is NOT the most tolerant nation when it comes to sex scandals.

National Kissing Day

Here’s a lineup of the cutest otters kissing that you’ve ever seen. Their expressions are priceless, but don’t take my word for it. Click the link above and be prepared to go ahhhhhhh!

And the most tolerant nation for sex scandals is..

When politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrived in France last week, cleared of a New York sex scandal, he returned home smiling despite facing a frosty reception. Maybe he should have gone to Mexico, instead.

Pay attention Anthony Weiner, Tiger Woods, Brett Favre and others caught up in public, sexual indiscretions. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday shows 57 percent of Mexicans would be either very likely or somewhat likely to tolerate the sexual indiscretions of stars and politicians. They were followed by Belgians at 55 percent. In the United States, the tolerance factor was 48 percent. France, in fact, was way down the list at only 33 percent, while Japan was the least forgiving country at only 28 percent.

Man dressed as Gumby tries to rob store

In the world of animated TV, it's no stretch to say that good-natured Gumby is far down the list of characters that would commit armed robbery. But a man clad in a full-figured Gumby costume has made a botched attempt to rob a 7-Eleven store in California, and authorities are looking for the suspect, police said on Wednesday.

It happened early on Monday when the man came into the San Diego store dressed as the green claymation figure, accompanied by an ordinarily dressed accomplice, San Diego Police spokesman Detective Gary Hassen said. The costumed man announced he was robbing the store, but the clerk thought it was a joke, police said. "Gumby said, 'You don't think it's a robbery? Let me show you my gun,'" Hassen said.

The suspect then tried to reach into his Gumby outfit but experienced a "costume malfunction" and could not fit his hand in a pocket, he said.Instead of a gun, the costumed suspect pulled out 26 cents in change which he dropped on the floor, police said. The accomplice, who had left the store and gotten into a minivan, honked at the man dressed as Gumby. He, too, walked out of the store without managing to take any money, police said. Both men left in the minivan. After their getaway, the store clerk was still not certain an attempted robbery had occurred and did not call police. The store manager, who arrived later that morning, reported the incident.

‘Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.’

image  —  Quote by  Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you’re a conservative who hates taxes, please do the following…

1.Do not use Medicare...

1. 2.Do not use Social Security
2. 3.Do not become a member of the US military, who are paid with tax dollars.
3. 4.Do not ask the National Guard to help you after a disaster.
4. 5.Do not call 911 when you get hurt.
5. 6.Do not call the police to stop intruders in your home.
6. 7.Do not summon the fire department to save your burning home.
7. 8.Do not drive on any paved road, highway, and interstate or drive on any bridge.
8. 9.Do not use public restrooms.
9. 10.Do not send your kids to public schools.
10. 11.Do not put your trash out for city garbage collectors.
11. Do not live in areas with clean air.
12. Do not drink clean water.
13. Do not visit National Parks.
14. Do not visit public museums, zoos, and monuments.
15. Do not eat or use FDA inspected food and medicines.
16. Do not bring your kids to public playgrounds.
17. Do not walk or run on sidewalks.
18. Do not use public recreational facilities such as basketball and tennis courts.
19. Do not seek shelter facilities or food in soup kitchens when you are homeless and hungry.
20. Read the rest at the blog What Would Jack Do?