fell-swoop

It has very recently dawned on me that the best way for me to keep track of my enthusiasms and be able to agitate other people by sharing them is to have a blog.

I want to take this space to acknowledge that everyone else has been blogging forever, that I am a "jonny-come-lately", that I have nothing of interest to say, and that this is probably not a good idea.

There.

Now let's begin.

The other owl picture

Hoo (hoo) boy.




http://www.owlpages.com/

The angry looking owl on the left would like you to
1.)not mess with him
2.)check out the link to "owlpages"
3.)know that the photo was taken by Photographer Pat Kranz. and can be found on this page, and I hope I'm not violating the spirit of copyright laws by posting this photo, which can be found in it's original form here http://www.owlpages.com/image.php?image=species-Ninox-rufa-6

Kwaito (South African Hip Hop)

I just heard this program on NPR's "Inside Out" documentary show about the birth of a new genre of urban music from the ghettos of South Africa, called Kwaito.

It started in the early 1990's just after the end of Apartheid.

cool.

http://www.insideout.org/documentaries/kwaito/default.asp

Tiny Fabulous Giant Eyed Creatures, and Orgins of Two Wheeled Flying Lust

A photo that combines an old obsession with a new one.

Okay, I am obsessed with many things. Since I was a wee lad, I've had a thing for speed.... I remember on family car trips annoying my father by asking him why other cars on the highway were travelling faster than ours...especially if it was the same kind of car. I didn't understand why if we could go that fast we weren't.

Later I was ever-so-uniquely obsessed with sports-cars. In 8th grade I more or less worshipped the Lamborghini Countach. Not unlike discovering that santa claus isn't real, adding to my adolescent lugubriousness was the realization that I'll never be able to afford or insure an exotic car and get from 0-60 in four seconds like the lambo.

The summer I graduated from high school (1991) life finally presented the obvious solution to my dilemma...motorcycles. I've been riding motorized two wheeled vehicles ever since. Last fall I decided to follow through on this quest and purchase my dream vehicle, a Honda VFR-800a "Interceptor".

Enough back story. This photo incorporates that tried-and-true obsession with a new one, owls. I have always dug muppets and various large-eyed animals. Why it took me this long to realize that this particuar creature is more or less a comically-perfect manifestation of all I am programmed to think is cute...a little nugget of distilled excellence provided by the harsh realities of evolution....was just waiting for me to expend useless mental energy upon is all spilt milk.

There is an essay contest on the VFR-specific website that I frequent, and recently this guy in california was on a ride out in the boonies when he saw this creature precariously hanging out on the double-yellow line of a two lane road. The guy immediately pulled over and scooped up the creature (a tiny owl) and brought it to the side of the road. For some fabulous reason the owl was completely tame, so the guy got to take a picture of it sitting in his hand, and then actually pose the owl perching on the throttle of his motorcycle. The owl was then picked up and brought to the edge of the woods, where it flew up into a tree, checked the guy out a bit more, and then flew away.

Needless to say, I was deeply moved by this tale, and the photos of the owl slapped me into the realization that I should have been obsessed with these little creatures for a long time now. Better late than never though.

The photo was taken by a guy who calls himself "alleycatdad" and here is a link to the thread on www.vfrdiscussion.com --> http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=13418