THE STORY OF THE SINISTER GLADIOLA

I bought a bouquet of gladiolas one day. As I was adding more water to them, I noticed something a little off about one of the stamen, so I took a picture. It looks like it's a skelton on his back, with big feet in the air. I am offering it in black and white as well, as it shows up even better. I think it's very funny. Too bad they couldn't develop an entire series of these flowers. Wouldn't it be the perfect parting gift if a couple were splitting up?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

No fancy displays. A fruit stand in a small town.

STREET-VIEWING THE PAST

`````I wonder how many people have used Google Street-view to look at the places that they lived as kids, or taken the opportunity to tour their childhood school. It was Thomas Wolfe who said it best; "You can't go home again."

`````For there is much more that ties us to a time and place then mere physical structure or locale. It is the people who inhabited those homes, the smells of what we swore was the best bakery going or the sounds of those AM Classics we attempted to sing along to.

`````Streetview doesn't photograph the back alleys, which was the preferred highway of our youth. It was there that we'd make our mark; not in the form of grafitti, but as hop-scotch squares on the asphalt. We all knew a maze of short cuts from alley to driveway. Backlanes held the promise of discarded pop bottles, and then we'd be off to the store.

`````On the hill where I lived, my beloved trees are gone as are my mother's flower beds. What was once one property has been divided into two. Thus, the funky house with the balcony which ran around the entire length of the structure is gone. My cousin had streaked it on a dare one sleep-over.

`````I used Streetview to position myself at the top of the hill from which we ran. It was very steep, and on two occasions a car had rolled down the hill and crashed into the bedroom of the house at the bottom where my friend Joanne lived.

`````I still have a slight scar on my left knee from one of our races, as we'd cast ourselves headlong down Oxford. We'd grab the stop-sign at the bottom with such force that my shoulder would jolt.

`````As I move my cursor along, I miss the sounds. I recall the cadence of the sport's announcer's voice when the game was on in the evening. For my memories are usually of summer, thus the open windows and extended days. The concrete would radiate the heat well into the evening hours as we sat on the low curbs and talked, plucking at the reedy grass stalks behind us.

`````The images on my computer are devoid of any emotion. There are buildings, but the faces of the neighbours who watched us play from behind the windows are gone. Maybe in today's world their protective eye holds as much worth as those lovely felled trees. Where did those birds go? The ones whose blue eggs we'd find each spring, year after year. This street has no connection to my memory of where I grew up at all. The monster house sits upon the grass where I'd lay and hug my dog. The vast tangle of sweet peas no longer beguile with their charmingly soft scent. Long since torn up.

`````No, you can't go home again-----don't even try it.

The Sisters Of Mercy - Marian

I love the Sisters of Mercy and the footage is from the classic "Nosferatu."

HALLOWEEN VIDEO OF THE DAY-LOST BOYS

The song is "Cry Little Sister" from the movie's soundtrack.

HALLOWEEN VIDEO OF THE DAY-THE SHINING

This is one of the best horror movies. It's beautifully filmed and the acting cannot be topped. I've added some artwork by Damien Loeb, who will run with a topic in his work. In his set which includes this painting (Room 237), one feels that they've been in the place before; it is oddly familiar. It takes a while to realize that it is a scene from a horror movie. I love photorealist work and Mr Loeb one of the best.



There's a sense of pathos to the character in this movie, as the acting is done so well. He is tormented by what is happening to him. Jack Nicholson mastered this part.



The music is the soundtrack to "28 Days Later'. I put this soundtrack on when I am in a certain mood or if I'm writing something which requires just that sort of ambience.

Everytime that I watch "The Shining", by the way, I want to go on a roadtrip. I want to head to one of those old world hotels, like the one at Banff or Lake Louise. By the way, one of my best drives involved a quirky, odd place called "Three Valley Gap." Many are offended by its aesthetics as it's hardly five star, but I love the odd. The owner purchased actual buildings from the turn of the century ghost towns and rebuilt them---exactly as they were---items included. It's like a museum, but it's the entire town. Since the time I was there, a large train museum has been added. This is probably why I've lost my travelling companion, as people who have read earlier blogs can atest. Trust me; Google "Three Valley Gap." There's a gnome garden amongst ivy inside the hotel, with plastic parrots hidden in the branches. The pool has a large mural of the Titanic behind it. One of the rooms is called "The Cave Room" and is made of rock. This is heaven for a vampire at heart like myself. At the entrance, a tree grows through the rafters, as they didn't want to cut it down when they built the hotel. They built around it.
I don't have many photos as I took pictures with a regular camera. It's a bizarre place, often furnished like somebody's den. Hey, I love the offbeat and odd. I really want to go there again and explore that museum. I will post the pictures below because STINKING MICROSOFT JUST ERASED HALF OF MY POST. I HAD TO REDO IT. AFTER I TRIED TO UPLOAD THE PICTURES USING BLOGGER, I GOT THE INTERNET EXPLORER PROBLEM MESSAGE AND THAT WAS THAT.

Photos Which Would Not Print with the Above Blog Because Microsoft Sucks

The above is actually taken from the second story. It's a huge two story fire place. Below, you can see a table and a stool. That's a bunch of ivy. Those windows look out towards the lake and a garden, which has a walkway.


There's the tree which grows through the roof.

This is an actual old church. People opt to get married in it.

There was a tour group of Germans and this guy, who is bending over, looked exactly like a thin Robert Downey Junior. That old hotel in the background was really nice inside and looked sort of creepy on the outside. That little building is a trapper's sleeping quarters. They used to sleep in them when they followed their trap lines.

That's a view of the hotel.

SEND HER PACKING

I am not a sports fan, but I must admit that I am cheering David Beckham on. Go team! It's the principle of the matter. Everybody knows the story by now of how a woman who claims to be a $10,000 a night callgirl sold her story to "In Touch" Magazine. (I had planned on blogging about this when it first happened, but I had the pings on my computer which sounded like a pinball machine. Operation Aborted, as Internet Explorer could not open the site). Anyways, this lady purports to having trysted with David Beckham in a New York hotel. I think her story is about as false as her eye colour, cleavage, lips and those stencilled on eyebrows of hers.

`````To be frank, I am not surprised that somebody like her has crawled out of the proverbial swamp. There was money to be made and she caught the scent. After all, she'd just witnessed a number of other ladies sell their stories about Tiger Woods. Another hooker, or excuse me, V.I.P. party hostess, managed to get herself a fancy penthouse and hush money out of the deal.

`````I guess she didn't think he'd fight back. I suppose I care because there's probably not a woman out there who hasn't been subjected to false speculation or innuendo of a sexual nature at some point. It's embarrassing and it is unwarranted. It may be started by a bored or jealous female coworker. You know...."She got the job because she's dating the boss." Sometimes, the lie is spread by a guy who wants to further his reputation. The feeling of outrage and lack of control is horrible. There's that hope that nobody believes the nonsense and that you're not being discussed behind your back. Face it; a woman's stock goes down if she's talked about in such a fashion while a guy gets high fives.

`````It's pathetic when this goes on in highschool, but to some degree, that's the mindset of many a sixteen year old male. Little kids have imaginary friends; these losers have imaginary naked friends. But, there are actually morons out there who continue to engage in this nonsense well into their twenties and thirties. It's bad form to kiss and tell, but when it never happened in the first place, you start to skirt the territory of stalkerville.

`````I once knew a man in his thirties who had the nerve to suggest that he'd slept with a friend of mine. This was after she had turned him down many times. But, to address it would only make the rumour seem true. Another individual that I knew insisted that that he had "gone out" with a woman I was acquainted with. He went around and told people this, somehow oblivious to the fact that she was not his type. Absolutely not his type---she was a lesbian.

`````I really hope that the I.R.S. (Internal Revenue Service and not the terrorist group), was paying attention to the hooker's claims. At the very least, you know she got paid for this story. But, if she was making as much money at night as she claims, you better hope she filed her taxes properly. That's how they nailed Heidi Fleiss and Al Capone when all was said and done.

`````If she then admits, as I suspect, that she really didn't earn that amound of cash per night, she will be proved a liar. Then, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, if she lies about one thing, she's going to lie about the other.

`````I always found it suspect that she came up with that number (the ten thousand). After all, it was that amount, $10,000, that Linda Evangelista needed to drag her ass out of bed in the morning. That quote created quite the stir and it was oft repeated. I think the hooker stole it.

`````Incidentally, models have been purchased for sex by rich oilmen. Perhaps they'd pay that amount for a high class, famous model, but not for this woman. She looks like typical Eastern European bad news; the kind that'll sell your information on the side after she's dealt with you. Hello identity theft.

`````When they're done nailing her for tax evasion, what about slander? That's a crime in many jurisdictions. Then find out if they can send her packing back to where she came from. Who needs a felon over here. There's enough that are born and bred on this continent. Make an example out of her.

`````Yes. Team Beckham all the way. Incidentally, one would have thought that she would have purchased some expensive under garments with all that money she made. I understand that Agent Provacateur has some nice items (not that I can afford them).

`````By the way, this disgusting lady had the nerve to countersue David Beckham for defending himself. She felt that she suffered at his hands when she was served with papers. That's akin to us being served with papers and sued for damages if we take somebody to task in court for assaulting us or damaging our property. This woman has no shame. But then really, would you expect her to? The nonsense with these hookers/bimbos/trash making money from people has got to stop. Please stop rewarding them by giving them their own reality shows.

SUMMER MEMORY NEEDED ON THIS DISMAL DAY

A photo I took this summer to insert some colour. I dread the onset of winter.

HALLOWEEN VIDEO-TYPE O NEGATIVE

I saw these guys in concert once. Unfortunately, Pete Steele died a few months ago. This video is atmospheric and just right for this time of year.

KLEPTO OR OCD?

`````I kept buying toy mice and they kept disappearing. My black feral has a real fondness for these toys. Like a dog, he'll chase the mice and return them to me. Another version of the game is that I'll toss the toy towards him and he'll jump up and catch them. All I have to do to initiate the game is make a "squeakie" mousie sound and he'll come running from his secret cat cave.

`````He did not want to share, however. He'd pick up his new gift and growl at any other cat who approached him. He'd watch as I placed the rest of the package into the kitchen cupboard. A while later I would hear repeated banging, as he tried to open the door with his paws. These are solid cupboards, but it was only a matter of time before I'd walk into the kitchen and find the door open and the cupboard bare.

`````Well, I have discovered the stash; the answer to the riddle. Ollie had shoved the toy mice into the chaise. There were about 20 toy mice pushed very far down into the confines of the chaise itself. When I lifted up the chaise, there were about 30 more well placed under the chair itself. In so doing, he had done some shredding. Thanks, Ollie. There were a few balls there, but it was only the mice that he selected for storing in this area.

`````Oh, the scowls that I got when I took out his treasure.

`````What I want to know is this: is this a case of OCD or is he a klepto?

EPIC FAIL---IF A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, THIS EXPLAINS IT ALL

I keep getting the excited, flashing red from Microshit. One would think that nuclear war was immenent, but no....a download is required. In fact, not doing so stops my computer from working properly. They've turned off the sound on my computer to force my hand when I refuse to comply. But, you see what happens. The photos, by the way, were uploaded on the MAC, because, as I've stated before, Microsoft refused to accept that the Fuji Camera is anything but a Xerox Scanner and won't deal with it. This is what happens when I do try to accept updates; on a good day, that is. On a bad day, it crashes my computer. When I try to use it, many sites won't open. All I get is a little ping indicating that "Operation Aborted". This explains my absence.

I was going to blog....as I got onto my computer at last....but my phone just went. I was slated for another dreaded training day tomorrow, which meant working a day shift. But, I was just notified that I am now back on nights tonight. So, now my sleeping is all over the map again. Thanks a lot. Ask me again why I hate training days. That and the fact that the last time I did training day, some woman that I didn't know saw me walk into the washroom and the conversation then went like this:

There's a blog about how much I hate training about a year and a half ago. You might recall it. This year's training day had me not sleep from Monday to Thursday already (despite over-dosing on Gravol) and my head was killing me. I was in the washroom minding my own business (waiting, as one has to do in those places). This training involved people from other branches. When I walked in, I got the side eye. One hot babe chirps up to her friend when she walked into a stall (I'm surprised she actually had bodily functions since she was so regal),

"I wish I was back in that department full time because then I wouldn't have to dress up and wear makeup to work and look good. It takes time having to get ready every morning. I like looking ugly when I come to work." She then proceeds to tell her friend about how some married guy at work was hitting on her and calling her up and was now available as he and his wife had split. The conversation then went onto the merits of this guy.

Yes. I love training day.

So, all this stuff that I was expecting to get done today, I now have to do in a matter of....oh, an hour or two. I have to wash my clothes and I have no food in the house at all. I have to clean up the poop as I have a mysterious cat crapper who's insisting on going beside the litter box. I had wanted to catch up on all the blogs that people write, as prior to this I had been having so much drama with internet explorer insisting that various sites could not be opened. I've discovered that if I turn off various functions at Norton and turn off some popup blockers, it works better. Hit and miss. I hope it still works tomorrow. Take care, all. I am looking forward to reading back and commenting.