This Stuff is Fun!

My second movie. No wonder kids think school is boring. This is fun. Still took a whole afternoon. Mostly to find appropriate pictures to go with the music. But it was really fun. I didn't realize how much time had passed -- and then I was finished. This might be a new hobby. I really do need a new reason not to do laundry, dust, or do lesson plans. This is great.

Enough Already! Journalists Beware--Bread and Circuses

Stop. Do not say, print, or broadcast another word about Anna Nicole Smith. What in the hell is wrong with you people? This is not a news story. And it is damn sure not the story of the century. It's not journalism; it's not even OJ. The semi-accidental death of a stripper who happened to get lucky with some 90 year old billionaire is not worth more than 2" on page 7 of the poorest local rag. Has the entire profession lost their collective minds? You are being manipulated to ignore legitimate stories -- like the 20 tons of hundred dollar bills that were flown to Iraq and lost by whomever was in charge. Don't you think the news might should devote a little more time to Attorney General Gonzales' precarious situation, instead of Miss Smith's untimely death? You are just proving what an ancient Roman philosopher said - "All the people care about is bread and circuses." What he inferred was, that if you can keep the general public happy and full--they will not question anything their government is doing. Wake up, and shut up--unless, of course, you have something to say about something that actually matters.

Turkey Buzzards

My son Trent's birthday was March 18th; he is now a quarter of a century old. That sounds old to me. By some untoward coincidence, that's also the day that turkey buzzards arrive from "somewhere" to roost in Carlsbad--like the swallows come back to Capistrano. Turkey buzzards aren't nearly as romantic as swallows. They are decidedly ugly, but graceful, birds. Every evening for a few weeks, they swoop back and forth in the sky over our neighborhood. They usually roost a block or so north of my house. They seem to prefer the tall pecan trees in the old money block of Riverside Drive--these buzzards have class. I'm not a bird expert, although I know one. I haven't bothered to ask him about the turkey buzzards. Where are they going, and from where do they come? Why is Carlsbad the destination for buzzards, instead of romantic swallows or beautiful songbirds? I'm sure it is just a factor of our wonderful climate, not social commentary.

These particular turkey buzzards settled in my neighbor's tree a couple of evenings ago. Maybe their Riverside Drive roost was under construction, or maybe they were just slumming--who knows? We had a pretty good storm that evening. Maybe they were off course due to the incoming storm. No matter. There is something decidedly creepy about walking outside and spotting them lurking in the tree across the street. I don't suppose they were actually looking at me, but I tried to keep moving while they were there. Spring is here. The evidence is blooming all around us. My backfence neighbor's purple plum is gorgeous. The rain was great for everything--even for the turkey buzzards, I guess.