Happy New Year ?





A reference point, on Sunday September 24 this widget was reading : 2,700

Speaking of Hanging People



This is the best hanging story I know :

The Hanging of Black Jack Ketchum
Black Jack was trying to hold up a train by himself, but the conductor shot his left arm and Tom staggered off into the night. He was found at a water hole and surrendered peacefully, and was taken to a hospital in Santa Fe where he had his arm amputated. When his arm healed he was taken to Clayton* for his trial. He pled innocent to most of the crimes he was charged with but, the judge found him guilty and he was sentenced to death by hanging. The hanging was delayed several times until law men heard about rumors that old gang members were going to free Black Jack, so they pushed up his hanging to April 26 1901. His hanging turned out to be a big town event. People from the towns around Clayton came,the law men sold tickets to see Black Jack get hung and they sold little dolls of Black Jack hanging on a stick.
..... Read On

* For those in the Far Away Folks file ...... Clayton is a perfect place for a UFO gas station.

Words and Images

I've been thinking about the power of words, and images. I noticed that people who are really into words, feel that a spare clean look is effective. Their idea on the page is all that is needed. Two examples of this are Digby and Juan Cole. Both succeed at this because they are fine minds, and can handle words and the ideas behind those words. This works only if you're Juan or Digby, most of us are in that great herd that just produce drivel.
As a lover of both words and images, I'm aware of the power of both. But it is images that crush words every time. Don't believe me, just try not to notice that rotating globe on the right side of this page.

This morning I came across a really wonderful set of images :

{Click on the Picture to Play}

NASA: The advance and retreat of daily snow and sea ice cover in the Northern Hemisphere from September 2002 through May 2003 (Animation)

Weird Celebrations of Britain ....and other places


ROBYNE in Sydney asked me to do a little work on her new site ..... As usual, I got carried away.







Love those Minoan Women.















Have a Look and tell me what you think :

Weird Celebrations of Britain ....and other places

Making Grill Cheese Sandwiches



I've gotten in the habit of looking at the The Google Blog Review .... So I see Spoonman's Site, and he makes a reference to making Grill Cheese Sandwiches with an iron like Johnny Depp did in the movie Benny & Joon.

In my review, I suggested that Spoonman put an image of doing that in the header of his site.
But then I found that people have already been hard at work :

Grill Cheese Sandwiches the Benny & Joon Way

Then I found the the Golden Place, who bought the famous Virgin Mary's Face on a Grill Cheese. has a site where you can :

PUT YOUR FACE on a GRILL CHEESE SANDWICH

Tony Greer's Tesla Coil as it Really Looks :

James Brown - I Feel Good

Something Useful

I saw this a while back on another site, and decided to fool with it .... It works really well. It's called :

Blog Rolling

I started a new module with it for Web Tools. Here's how it works :

Your surfing along a you find a site you want add to your links. With this feature installed, you don't have to open the template and add the code on your list. You just click on the Powered by Blog Rolling it opens a page with a field for the Name of the site and it's URL. Fill in those two blanks ..... click a button, and it adds the link automatically to your list. His directions are a little tough to understand, and you have to add at least one link before the thing starts showing-up, but otherwise it's really pretty simple to install.

The War in Iraq



This what we're talking about when we say the word war.

MSNBC is having their Year In Pictures review ...... This is from that collection, you can see them all and vote for your favorite :

YEAR IN PICTURES

More from Hieroglyph Cable News Network

Shout Out to Digby







Digby, one of the best writers on the net, is having a fundraiser. Help him if you can.

Dali





It's really too bad Salvador didn't own a MAC.

"I Am Spartacus"























One of the few things we know about Spartacus was that he was a Thracian.



That land includes what is now modern Bulgaria. These are shin guards that were made 300 to 500 years before Spartacus was born, I found them on the National Geographic website. The article is just amazing, it's called BULGARIA'S GOLD RUSH

The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony



"Try to make ends meet ..... You're a slave to the money, then you die."

Break On Through

Here's the Deal

Sorry for being so cryptic ..... It's a trait I'm not fond of either

I told a few people awhile back that I had a personal pool going around here on who would go first.

A. My sister's yellow cat
B. My 83 year-old father ... who has emphysema, heart disease
C. My sister, who is a professional mess
D. Me, who's reaping the fruits of a miss-spent youth

The yellow cat won.

I however, seem to be coming in a close second.
Here's the Wikipedia Page that spells out the picture right now.
The fetor hepaticus mentioned there doesn't thrill me at all, but I haven't kissed a pretty woman in awhile, so I guess it doesn't really matter that much.

I have a lot of loose ends to take care of, and I need to use this energy and time to do some tying up.
I would love it, if someone who has the time and energy, would step up and take on one of my sites.
That being TYKO
Drop me an email, if you feel up to it.

Thank-you all for the very kind words. An "ATTA BOY" or "ATTA GIRL" to each and everyone of you. It means more than words can say.

My String Has Run Out

This was just the last effort to ward of Brain Rot.

Thanks for all your attention .... It was a waste of time .... but you wasted it with me.

For Sale .... The "Let'er Buck" Picture Vest

These are the last two items of my career as a leather artist. They are what I called picture vests. Each was different, and there are only a dozen floating around.
Both this one and the Tom Mix vest have never been worn, except for these pictures and have been stored. They are both just like new.



This image was the cover of the 1933 Pendelton Round-Up Program it pays tribute to the artist.

1/2" chrome tan sheep shearling with oil tanned split deer skin trim.
Snaps are brass and nickle conchos.
Size= 42" {See Tom Mix for more about sizing}
Machine sewn and hand laced.
Both vests are treated with silicone water proofing to resist dirt.

Terms : C.O.D. plus shipping; Cash or Money Order to the UPS man
Price : Make me an offer

For Sale .... The Tom Mix Picture Vest {SOLD}





















Snap detail ..... Brass concho with snap mounting

1/2" Chrome tan shearling with tan deer skin trim. Pockets are sheep skin with deer covering.
Motto on the back : " Big Hat, Fast Horse "
Image is burnt into the sheep skin .... Tom Mix
Size = 44 .... But this 44 is made to be worn over a heavy sweater. That's the key to a good sheep skin vest.
Heavy shirt, heavy sweater, then the vest. You're toasty and have more arm movement than a heavy coat.

Valley View Hot Springs Summer of 71'


Valley View Hot Springs is probably the best kept secret in the whole of south central Colorado. During the boom of the 1st World War, Colorado Fuel and Iron Works opened a iron ore mine called The Orient at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. This hot springs is a few miles north of the mine site. At that time, it was developed as resort for the miners to spend their money. It had an bar that was built in the shape of an octagon. And a whorehouse that was painted pink on the inside. One long hallway down the middle and cribs on either side of the hall. The developers dug out the springs {There are several}, and lined the walls with rock.

That whole thing had fallin' into a state of decay by the 1970's, and was home to a couple who were care takers in exchange for a place to live. I think it was like 50 cents to use the springs. The " Small Pool " in these pictures was just big enough to hold a couple. It had a sand bottom. Sitting in it, the water came just to my chin. The water temp was perfect, and bubbles came out of the sand and tickled your ass.

MY 54' FORD


Made a " Field Trip " today , The last warmth of fall is about to be driven out of the county tonight.
Gave my wood tools to my old friend Larry today ..... and some odds and ends. In the stuff, was a copy of a photo.......from my May, 1967 high school paper. Me, Carol, and my 1954 Ford it is painted with 39 different colors from spray paint cans. Sorry it's a black & white copy.
The article was about me and Carol being " Unconventional". It was a feat in Lubbock, Texas back in 1967 to be " Unconventional".
Carol was in trouble for wearing mini-skirts, and I was just in trouble. It's a hell of a picture folks .... Time magazine ..... " Turned me on".... I read about the poster revolution way out in San Fran. That was in Feb. of 67' .... and being a teenager who was dumb enough to want to be an artist, I looked into it. I'd never heard the word "Hippy" before that . Two months after that article, I was deep into it .... That's went this is made.
I have some good stories about that Ford ..... my mom sold it for 6 books of green stamps.
Carol had a great pair of legs. She was a real dish. Right out of an Elvis movie.

Valley View Hot Springs Summer of 71'



More later.