NASCAR's Here!

It's that time of year...Speed Week at Daytona. Why am I so excited? Simple I'm suffering from football withdrawl. I'm also excited because my driver...Dale Jr. got himself a sweet new ride, new colors, and a new owner. Oh yeah, he also got himself a win the first time out with his new car. It oughta be a fun '08 season.

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

I'm Bored

When I get bored, things like this usually happen. It's a Saturday, I slept in and missed getting an early start with my camera and now I have to go and buy blue jeans for work. Yippie flipping skippy! Have a great Saturday everyone.

Will the Real Abe Lincoln Please Stand Up

For my latest Wordless Wednesday entry, I posted a photo of living historian James Getty portraying Abraham Lincoln. Being a photographer/artist I have times when I'm not happy with my work. In this case, I had to shoot through a crowd, that and the photo just didn't look old. I wanted old, something along the lines of my Great-great Uncle Henry way back in 1910 or 1911.

This the original photo of Mr. Getty, taken in 2003 in the chapel of Gettysburg College. Notice the young Mr. Lincoln on the right.

To create the image I wanted, I cropped the photo down using Photoshop. Next, using the cloning tool, I took out the folded program the elderly man on the left was holding. Next I took the color out of the photo then started playing around with the tone. I added a little yellow, a little red, and another dash of yellow. But after an hour, I still couldn't find the look I wanted. That's when I reached for the phone and called number 1 son, a.k.a., Skippy.

Say hello, to Skippy. Aside from being my oldest, he's a graphic artist. So, I says 'help' and he says 'e-mail me the original image.

Two days later, Skippy sends me the finished product. At first I thought he went a little overboard with the yellow. But, over time, the image has grown on me. I think he did a fantastic job. Now, if he only lived close, he could give me lessons in Photoshop.

Thank you son, er uh, Skippy. By the way, folks, did I mention he's single and has his own place? I didn't? Well he is. Want his phone number? Give me a shout. Serious inquiries only.

P.S. Check back next Wednesday. I'll be doing something special for Wordless Wednesday. Until then...see you in the funny papers.

Wordless Wednesday

Photo by: Camera Totin' Idiot
Photoshopped by: Skippy at Hutteresque.deviantart.com

For more Wordless Wednesday participants, click here

WHOOPS! David beat Goliath...again.

I had no real intention of watching the Super Bowl last night. Hey, the Packers got beat in the NFC Championship game, and my Steelers went down in the first round of the playoffs. Besides why would I want to watch Bellichek and Brady tie Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw with four Super Bowl wins.

My theory was that the Giants would play the Patriots close for two and half to three quarters before the Pats would eventually wear them down. That's what they did to Philly, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and the Giants in the season finale. So why waste my time, right? Then Goody Two Shoes says lets watch the commercials, they're always funny. Well, the only way to do that is to watch the game. So, we watched. Let me tell you, the game was more interesting than the commercials...well, most of them anyway.

David Tyree's acrobatic catch was the third best I've ever seen...behind Swann's falling down catch against Dallas in Super Bowl X, and John Stallworth's over the shoulder catch against the Rams in Super Bowl XIV.

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)Getty Images

To say I was surprised that the halftime score was 7-3 in favor of the Pats is an understatement. I never thought it would be that low. To say that I was stunned that the Giants could score a pair of 'come from behind' touchdowns in the fourth quarter and win the biggest game of all is a momumental understatement. I was glad to see Coach Coughlin, and Michael Strahan, Jeff Feagles, and the rest of the G-men get their first Lombardi trophy, and their first ring. They played harder and they deserved it. Plain and simple.

Hey, Mikey! He likes it...whoops, wait, that was a cereal commercial.

(AP Photo/David Duprey)

There was a point where I kind of started to feel sorry for the Patriots. Hey, someone has to lose, right. But any notion of feeling sorry vanished when Bellichek trotted off the field with 1 second remaining. I thought it was the most classless thing I ever saw. He knows the rules...the game isn't over until ALL time has expired. All season long his team subjected opponents to one beat down after another and forced them to watch the entire 60 minutes. The list is seemingly endless: the Jets 38-14, Chargers 38-14, Dolphins 49-28, Redskins 52-7, Bills 56-10, and my Steelers 34-13. Now when the shoe is squarely on the other foot, Bellichek can't find the nerve to hang around for the bitter end. Ohhhhh pa-leeeeese! Come on Billy, your team got beat, stop acting like a pansy and take it like a man.

(Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)AFP/Getty Images

Here endith the sermon.

And now a few observations by some guys who've been there and done that. Guys with a little more class than Coach Billy.

'They came to see an offense and the wrong one showed up.' Randy Cross (referring to Dan Marino and the Miami offense in Super Bowl XIX)

'Don't ever let anybody tell you that just getting to the Super Bowl is a wonderful thing. Getting there and winning is a great thing. Getting there and losing is as bad as never being there. It's worse.'
Joe Theisman

'If God were to come down right now. Terry what can I do for you? Send me in, put me back in one Super Bowl. And put me at the 1-foot line, and give me two minutes to play, and give me all three of my time outs, and give me my boys. And let me hear my name over the loud speakers, and let me hear the roar of the crowd...Bradshaw, Bradshaw, and let me hear them booing on one side. Let me get in and call plays, and let me see their eyes grow as I call these plays, and let me talk to them. Let me feel the hair on my back crawl up. I mean, that's what the Super Bowl does to you. I mean, its.... I mean it's doing it right now to me. I mean, I could go out there right now and play. I know I could play two minutes.'
Terry Bradshaw

Oh, yeah. Here's my pick for the best Super Bowl commercial.

Hey, lets not be stupid, there's only one thing better than football. I'll let you figure out what that is.

A Drive in the Country

Spent a couple of hours driving around with Goody Two Shoes yesterday. We'd had a little bit of snow, followed by half an inch of ice on Friday. The roads were clear...for the most part, so we headed for Frostburg. Two miles short of Frostburg, the truck took a right and we headed out Parkersburg Road, where I shot this barbed wire fence.

Country Cemetery on Mile Lane, between Mt. Savage and Wellersburg.

My Grandparents farmhouse on the Palo Alto Road, above Wellersburg.

An icy stream down from the farm. Can you say frigid, boys and girls.

Covered bridge, near PA. Route 96. This is the best angle I could get without getting in the water.

A couple of shots of Stanton's Mill. For years I've been meaning to take a picture of this place. Kept putting it off for some reason.

A Blast From the Past

I'm a music junky and I love how You tube allows me to find songs and videos from when I was growing up...songs that I thought were long since forgotten. Take this little gem from 1974 by the studio band, Reunion. Sit back and enjoy.



Here's the lyrics to the song.

B.B. Bumble and the Stingers
Mott the Hoople, Ray Charles Singers
Lonnie Mack and Twangin' Eddy
Here's my ring we're going steady
Take it easy, take me higher
Liar, liar house on fire
Locomotion, Poco passion
Deeper purple, Satisfaction
Baby, baby, gotta, gotta
Gimmee, gimmee, gettin' hotter
Sammy's cookin', Leslie's Gorey
Richie Valens end of story
Maha Vishnu, Fujiama
Kama Sutra, Rama Lama
Richard Perry, Spector Barry
Righteous, Archies, Nilsson Harry
Shimmy, Shimmy, Koko Boppin'
Fats is back and finger poppin'

Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
Gotta turn it up louder
So my DJ told me
Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
At the end of my rainbow
Lies a golden oldie

FM, AM hits are clickin'
While the clock is tocking, ticking
Friends and Romans, salutations
Brenda and the Tabulations
Carly Simon, I behold her
Rolling Stones center folder
Johnny Cash and Johnny Rivers
Can't stop now I've got the shivers
Mungo Jerry, Peter Peter, Paul Paul and Mary Mary
Dr. John, the nightly tripper
Doris Day and Jack the Ripper
Got to go sir, got to swelter
Leon Russell, Gimme Shelter
Miracles in Smokey places
Slide guitarists and Fender basses
Mushroom omelet, Bonnie Bramlett
Wilson Pickett, stomp and kick it

Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
Gotta turn it up louder
So my DJ told me
Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
At the end of my rainbow
Lies a golden oldie

Arthur Janoff, Primal screamin'
Hawkins J. and Dale and Ronnie
Kukla Fran and Norman Okla
Denver John and Osmond Donny
J.J. Cale and ZZ Top
And L.L. Bean and Dee Dee Dinah
David Bowie, Steely Dan
And sing me proud oh C.C. Rider
Edgar Winters, Joanie Summers
Ides of March and Johnny Thunder
Eric Clapton, pedal wah-wah
Stephen Foster, ooo-dah, ooo-dah
Good Vibrations, Help Me Rhonda
Surfer Girl and Little Honda
Tighter, Tighter, Honey, Honey
Sugar, Sugar, Yummy, Yummy
C.B.S. and Warner Brothers
R.C.A. and all the others

Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
Gotta turn it up louder
So my DJ told me
Life is a rock but the radio rolled me
At the end of my rainbow
Lies a golden oldie

(Listen...they're playing our song)

Rock it, sock it, Alan Freed me
Murray Kaufman tried to lead me
Fish are swimmin', Boston Monkey
Make it bad and play it funky