This Is What I Got Today!

Today my boyfriend surprised me while we were out shopping. He seen some flowers and he bought these for me today. He asked me if I liked these flowers and I said yes. They are really nice have the Fall look to them. He is the sweetest man I know. I love him with all of my heart!♥

"My Grandfather's Video Will"

I'd rather be Ken than Bobby.

"Milwaukee officers are ready to ensure 'Occupy Milwaukee' rally will be peaceful"

From Fox6Now.com:

http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-20111014-occupy-milwaukee,0,1913216.story

http://occupymilwaukee.org/

Will there be an Occupy Racine?

SER?

Now that would be trouble!

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Welcome back to another special edition of Four for Fridays! I don't know about you, but I had a rather unusual week. Anyways, here are some random questions...

1) If you won a large sum of money, would you rather receive it in a lump sum or in payments?

2) Do you tend to arrive early for an appointment or just come right on time?

3) What is the most funniest movie you have ever seen?

4) What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday

Have an energetic weekend.

The Power of Televangelism

As some of you know, I have followed, off and on, the antics of televangelist Robert Tilton for about 25 years. I started out watching him on TV in Chicago while I was in an alcoholic stupor. Earlier this year, I "reconnected" with him; i.e., I got back on his mailing list. He sends out the most amazing assortment of religious trinkets and "holy cloths" and "anointed oil" and "sacred water" and on and on and on. It's not just Tilton. Also earlier this year, my neighbor turned me on to another televangelist, Peter Popoff. I got on his mailing list, too.

One of the first letters I received from Robert Tilton contained a real dollar bill. I was impressed. Of course, I was supposed to perform some inane ritual with the dollar and then return it "ten-fold" as a "faith promise" to guarantee my eventual riches.

Well, today Peter Popoff far surpassed anything that Robert Tilton ever did for me. Popoff doesn't mess around with any chump change dollar bills. He sent me this:

 

Damn! Thank you, Mr. Popoff! That answers all my prayers. Yes sir. Thank you very much.

As soon as I cash this, the JTIs are gonna party! Maybe I'll hire a symphony orchestra to appear at the gathering at Beejay's. Or maybe free helicopter rides. Or maybe both. Oh my!

Evidence of Autumn

Seems like Indian Summer has left us after a good week of excellent weather. The cold winds and rain finally came...stripping the colorful leaves and leaving the trees naked for all to see. Time to start planning for the winter ahead and get ready for hibernation. Here are some pictures I took from around town I took before today's rain...

Petrifying Springs in Kenosha



Leaves over Pike River at Petrifying Springs



On Main Street by the Racine Zoo



By Piggly Wiggly on Erie Street



The road going into River Bend




Root River at River Bend




By the airport on Green Bay Road

Acquainted with the Night

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right
I have been one acquainted with the night.

--Robert Frost

"Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech.^[1] His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes. A popular and often-quoted poet, Frost was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost

Yoko Ono - "Midsummer New York"

From her second album, Fly, 1971. Probably my favorite Yoko Ono song.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my beautiful autumn leaves! How are you? Hasn’t the weather been gorgeous to behold this past week? The sunlight; the red, green, gold, yellow, brown leaves everywhere; the warm days shrinking for the longer, cooler nights; the blindingly beautiful sunsets. Oh my. I do so love this time of year. Mother Nature has really been outdoing herself recently. Thank you, Mother. When you outdo yourself in the spring or fall, it usually is a blessing upon all; when you outdo yourself in the winter or summer, it often turns out to be a bummer. Just joking, Mother, just joking…

Our intrepid and valorous Green Bay Packers were not joking last Sunday when they continued their unstoppable march to the Super Bowl by trouncing the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome. At home or away, the Packers know how to play. Next, the St. Louis Rams, this Sunday, October 16, at noon, at Lambeau Field. Oh dear. Do the Rams have a chance of defeating our stalwart Packers? Sure they do, a lamb’s chance. Baa-baa, Rams.

As of this writing, our heroic Milwaukee Brewers are tied at one game apiece with the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. Huzzah! Huzzah! Go, Brewers! Our indomitable Wisconsin Badgers are coming off of a bye week to face, and defeat, the Indiana Hoosiers this Saturday. Hurray! Hurray! Go, Badgers!

I took a look at the news, my dears. I looked at local, state, national, and international news. I was looking for something I might want to mention or comment on in this blog. Oh my. Too be blunt, there wasn’t much that didn’t turn my stomach, let alone appear suitable for use here. Perhaps the best way to cope with current conditions is to ignore them as much as possible, or at least take frequent reality breaks. My dears, I do not want to appear vain or a braggart, but you all know my integrity and therefore you know that I speak the truth when I say that I consider myself one of the most powerful beings I know to be operating in the æther. Yet with all of my knowledge and skill, I would not be able to fix the numerous messes that we find ourselves in. Oh dear, oh dear. I don’t know who can, but don’t look at me. The best I can do is to provide a diversion that you might find entertaining. Thus, I present the introduction to “Broken Wear” or “Red Parka” or some such other Japanese show. Have you ever watched their TV? Talk about inscrutable.



Tee-hee. I can’t think of anything that such a wardrobe malfunction would be good for except, perhaps, if you often had irresistible urges to go swimming. Apparently, more about the matter can be discerned here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTEIb8cg-t8, but I’m not interested enough to invest more time into watching it.

Well, I certainly hope that my blog this week was not a downer for you, my beloved and benevolent readers. When you think about it, in a world colored by madness and despair, being sane and content is Irregular. Very Irregular, indeed. However, I still appreciate all of my regular readers and the occasional stoppers-by. Thank you for reading my blog today.

Shelter from the storm: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

“They” are predicting some rain in the days to come. We shall see. It has been dry, though. I await some precipitation with anticipation. I hope that you all have a wonderful week. Take care of yourselves, my dears. Paneity!

Open Blog - Wednesday

Have a pink butterfly day.

Super Moon and Mini-Moon

On March 19th, lots of people heard about the so-called Super Moon. The Super Moon was a full Moon that occurred when the Moon was closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit. Therefore, it appeared slightly larger and brighter in the night sky. The difference is small enough that most people would probably have trouble telling the difference without visual aid (I know lots of people said they could, but how many of them look at the Moon on a regular enough basis to judge? I would love to start a rumor that some random month had a super Moon and watch everyone claim it looks so much bigger but that's another story!)

Tonight is the smallest full Moon of the year which I have dubbed Mini-Moon for lack of a better term. The Moon near the farthest point in its orbit on the evening of full Moon. Again, it's not much smaller and you probably have a hard time telling the difference without visual aid.

Now I used visual aid in the form of a Canon Digital Rebel Xti and a 70-300mm zoom lens (at 300mm of course). I took a pic back on March 19th and another one just now. Not much has been done to them and they didn't come out as well as I had hoped, but the size is clearly different.

These are at the same scale of course. You can clearly see the March 19th pic (left) shows a larger Moon than tonight's photo (right). You don't need a lot of expensive equipment to do this type of photography. Many people have cameras similar to mine with comparable zoom lenses.

You can do the same with the Sun if you have a solar filter. Earth is closest to the Sun in early January and farthest from the Sun in early July. I think I will get some solar filter material and make that a 2012 project!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Trees

Some interesting trees......

Sensitivity

The room was full of pregnant women with their partners. The class was in full swing. The instructor was teaching the women how to breathe and was telling the men how to give the necessary help and assurance to their partners at this stage of the pregnancy.

She said, "Ladies, remember that exercise is good for you. Walking is especially beneficial. It strengthens the pelvic muscles and will make delivery that much easier. Just pace yourself, make plenty of stops and try to stay on a soft surface like grass or a path."

She then looked at the men in the room, "Gentlemen, remember -- you're in this together. It wouldn't hurt you to go walking with her. In fact, that shared experience would be good for you both."

The room suddenly got very quiet as the men absorbed this information. After a few moments, a man named Wayne at the back of the room slowly raised his hand.

"Yes," said the Instructor.

"I was just wondering if it would be all right if she carries a golf bag while we walk?"

October JTI Party

The date is quickly approaching. Ms. Beejay and Biggie D. would like a final head count so they can make the appropriate arrangements.  Please leave a comment if you haven't yet given your RSVP. Heck, leave your 2 cents even if you've already committed to be there! :D

Will there be a pole and dancing involved this time around or do our hosts have something else in mind for the irregulars?  Oh my!  

A side dish to pass will be appreciated. If you aren't a cook or home brewer, stop by the bakery, deli, or bring a beverage to share.  Emails with the specifics will go out some time next week. 

I'm excited, how about you?

The party will be at Ms. Beejay's abode on Saturday, October 22, 2011.  Please RSVP here in the comments if you are planning to be there.... and you better be attending!  I will send out an email to those who want the details.  Parties at Beejay's house are always the best!  Don't miss this one! :)

Aren't we a good looking bunch? ;>

KISS vs Micheal Jackson

I stumbled across this video doing some rock and roll research and found it to be quite amusing....

I confess to a bit a KISS fan and well, Micheal Jackson-well...uh...let's just say he tends to be the brunt of my jokes..

So who wins? Watch the video and find out.



Now I wonder what would happen if Madonna and Lady Gaga were to square off... Rocket firing bras?

"Old Men Take Off Clothes For Calendar"

http://www.break.com/index/old-men-take-off-clothes-for-calendar-2179316

Anything for a good cause, I guess.

Open Blog - Monday

Have a beautiful week.

"Racine…Missing Child Alert"

From Racine Uncovered:

"MISSING CHILD ALERT: If you see or know the whereabouts of ALEX RODRIGUEZ, age 16. Please contact her parents, John Valko III and Danyele Valko or the Racine Police Department 262-635-7700 immediately. She has been missing from Racine, WI since 3:00pm Saturday October 8th. She attends Park High School. Please keep your eyes open, cross post and share."

http://racineuncovered.org/2011/10/missing-child-alert/

Only in Montana

A family that lives on the outskirts of Billings , Montana decided to build a sturdy, colorful playground for their 3- and 4-year-old sons. They lined the bottom with smooth-stone gravel all around to avoid knee scrapes and other injuries. They finished building it one Friday evening and were very pleased with the end product.

The following morning, the mom was about to wake the boys up and have them go out to play in their new play center. This is what she saw from the upstairs window.







This gives a whole new meaning to "If you build it, they will come"!