LIFE: Bantams at 3 months

The little bantam chicks are all grown up it would appear. They will be 3 months old next week. I think once the roosters crow and the hens lay an egg it is official, but they look full grown anyway. There are only five now. A few weeks ago something got into the pen and killed the black non-frizzle one and a week before that one of the red ones escaped and was never heard from again.

These are the survivors. I have two roosters, one with yellow feet and one with white feet. I'm not sure if that means anything but at the very least its a good way to tell them apart. The other two red ones are hens and then there is the black frizzle. She still remains by far the coolest chicken. She is also the friendliest and seems to have very little fear. They live with the pheasant chicks at the moment and the chicks that my dad got. Among those new chicks is a bantam, not a cochin bantam like mine but some other type. He's a little fighter as I've seen him start things with the other chickens already. My dad tried putting them with his chickens but they attacked the bantams so he had to take them back out. His big mean barred rock got the ax a week ago... i guess that's what you get for pecking the hand that feeds you!

I'll keep updates on my bantam chicks, who are now chickens i guess. The frizzle is going to be entered into the Harmony Fair this year, and maybe, just maybe I'll get that elusive blue ribbon that i never got in all the years of the fair.

HOBBIES: soapstone carving, eskimo kayak

Well i finally finished my second attempt at soapstone carving. I went big with this one even though its only my second try. I decided to make an Eskimo hunter in a kayak. They were two different pieces of rock so their color turned out to be different, which now im glad that they did. It was the first time i had to do detail and it wasn't easy and i learned a lot from doing it, the next time i do a face it will be much better.

I made the spear out of wood that i had to sand down and i drilled a hole, (by hand) into the Eskimo's hand. It's glued in there just as a precaution and so is he. I have a hole in the guy and the kayak and a small piece of wood, all is glued just to be sure he never falls out.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, although any criticism by me or anyone else can be answered with, IT WAS THE SECOND TIME I MADE A CARVING. So i suppose i don't have much to complain about, i don't want to toot my own horn but take some time and look up soapstone carvings, this one looks pretty damn good compared to a lot of whats out there. However its pretty crappy to a lot of whats out there too. Everyone has their own style and its too early for me to even know what mine is just yet. I already have a list of things i want to make including a standing polar bear, a walking grizzly bear, a musk ox and Sedna. (she will have to wait a while until i get even more tools, more skills, more practice and more experience.)

It is father's day so i gave this little guy to my dad in hopes in ends up on his trellis. It also took my dad all of two minutes to break this guy's arm off. Yes, he broke it. It took me hours to make and it took seconds to break, funny how that works out. It was a clean break and will be glued and no one will ever be able to tell.

And so my second carving is now complete. What's next for me? I need some more soapstone, i have some but i'd like bigger hunks of it so i can make bigger sculptures. So until then my inuit hunter will ride the waves of my imagination, hunting in the sea of my mind. Perhaps I'll make him a seal or walrus to hunt.....

BLAST FROM THE PAST: The Voyage of the Mimi

PBS had an educational show back in 1984 about a sailing ship that was tracking whales off the eastern coast. The ship was called the Mimi and so the show's name was "The Voyage of the Mimi." Due to the show's success there was a sequel in 1988 called, "The Second Voyage of the Mimi."

Captain Granville and 6 other members used his ship, including his grandson C.T. The show was pretty good, it was only 13 episodes long and each week was another part of their long adventure at sea. It was a show for middle schoolers to learn about science and math in a fun and interesting way. It is still being shown in some schools today because the lessons learned back then can still be applied today. It taught young people a lot, i hadn't seen it since i was 6 years old and i don't remember much, other than i LOVED the theme song.

Way before Ben Affleck was ruining movies in the late 90's and 2000's he was playing C.T. Granville, the 10 year old of the crew who sailed the seas looking for whales and relating to kids everywhere. When Ben Affleck started doing movies many people my age and older said, "That's C.T.!" (As a side note, Ben Affleck's acting abilities are about the same in 2009 as they were in 1984.)

The ship was really owned by the man who played Captain Granville, and it was built in 1933 as a whaling vessel. He owned the ship until 1999 when he sold it. The ship is still sea worthy and docked in Boston. I would really like to see it someday.

With the help of the internet it took me 16 years to figure out the name of this show. 18 years to hear the theme song again, which was one of my favorites of all time. And 20 years to finally see the only episode i remembered. The one thing i NEVER forgot was that you CAN make salt water drinkable, this tv show showed you how. Its worth checking out, the acting is just horrible but if you watched it as a kid you liked it, it has a special allure for some reason. The theme music, which you can find here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYrlarKM-gw is worth listening to at least once. Youtube has many clips and a few episodes from the series. I hope more will be on the way but that's just my two cents.

The Following is closed captioned for the hearing impared

Well i just have to rant about something. I hate ads, i really hate them. You cant get away from them, they are EVERYWHERE. I just can't stand commercials anymore and its been like this for a long time.

It's bad that any clip you want to watch on the internet FORCES you to watch a commercial first, you cant skip it or anything either, you have NO CHOICE but to watch it or miss the clip you're really after. (i make it a point to never buy anything offered on these internet ads btw) So if that wasn't annoying enough now before movies in the theaters they are starting to run commercials. Its like, i came to the movies to watch THE MOVIE, not a commercial i have seen at home or will see at home. It's just very sad in my opinion. Everything is about making money, thats all it comes down to anymore.

If you have on demand, as i do, then you know that even those shows and free movies are putting in commercials, not as often as regular tv, but still one is too much for me. And very recently i see they are putting commercials INSIDE other commercials! Yes you heard me, probably the worst idea of all time. If you watch MTV you know exactly what im talking about, during their commercial for The Duel 2, they throw in a short commercial for the new Star Trek movie, then go back to the Duel 2's commercial. PATHETIC!

But now, after all that i think i saw the worst of the absolute worst. My aunt is hard of hearing so she has her tv turned on to the closed captions. Well let me tell you, first of all, if you read those, they leave things out people say and they also misspell a lot of the words, especially on espn for some reason? Anyhow before every show and after every show they type up a little ad. That's pretty annoying. The ad was for Volkswagen. Now tell me, because i really don't know, do deaf people drive??? Can they drive, i mean SHOULD they be allowed to drive cars? I really don't think they should, we drivers know a simple horn can save a life and that would do nothing for a deaf person. So my question is, WHY ADVERTISE CARS TO DEAF PEOPLE?

It's just one more way to force people to see an ad they didn't look for as far as im concerned. The people who can't hear the tv don't know it wasn't said, they'll read anything! Then its too late, they already know that Volkswagen has cars. Again, thats about the worst thing to advertise for people who can't hear, maybe an ipod is the only thing thats worse. Either way im sick and tired of all the ads and commercials in this world, enough is enough. Lets face it, if you need something you don't need a commercial about it, you'll buy it if you want it ....but thats just my two cents.

STORES: the customers strike back against Best Buy

I hate the store Best Buy. Its no lie. I have about 100 reasons i could list off the top of my head but i won't waste your time, you know how it is. The thing i hate the most is the upselling and the fact they say they don't make commission and yet try and try to help you, they go out of their way, to the point they will embarrass themselves so you KNOW they must make commission. Today proved that they must, it was all too obvious.

After being screwed once, my friend went back to buy an imac, this time he took cash and walked right back to the computer section picked up an imac off the shelf and started to walk to the register. This just DOES NOT happen in Best Buy, just getting to the section you want without having some blue shirt asshole pop out and say, "CAN I HELP YOU?" is near impossible. As we turned to walk to the register, without speaking to ANYONE mind you, the computer section guy actually did a double take and his jaw literally dropped. Haha, it was so great to see, you could actually see his body language, he was confused and upset.

At the register as my friend PAID for the computer, the computer section guy actually kept getting closer and closer making it obvious he was trying to see what we were doing at the cash register. Don't make commission hu? Sure did seem very concerned someone was checking out without talking to you, yet you guys DON'T make commission. The douche bag got closer and closer until he actually came right up to me and SPOKE to me. Talk about pathetic.

The little bitch says to me, "Um did you...did you take that off the shelf?" And so i said, "He did, yes." Then he said to me, "oh....well....did anyone help you?" Again a very odd question for someone who should care nothing about a commission, because they DON'T make any right?? So i said loud and clear, "NOPE." He then gave a nervous laugh and said, "Oh...nobody ever did that before...so you guys got everything you needed then?" And i said, "YUP." and he walked away, dejected and rejected. It was a wonderful victory. His face was hysterical. He was visibly upset. Again i must repeat, i was told by an employee as he tried to get me to buy more stuff for my camera, "We don't make commission, im not trying to get any commission, its just a good idea to buy the insurance." Well this douche bag today sure didn't seem like a guy who didn't make commission. And as for him saying no one has done that before maybe its because you hound people the second they walk through the door, you won't let anyone shop, you try to get them to buy more expensive stuff or stuff they didn't want or need in the first place, maybe THAT'S why nobody ever did that before, because you didn't give them the chance.

Please Best Buy admit it, you DO make commission and you were PISSED and UPSET that you let 2 grand worth of commission slip through your fingers. I bet the punk still put his name down as helping my friend get that computer, but he didn't. He wasn't asked for help and he didn't even have the chance to jump down our throats with his "help" bullshit. Also the asshole at the cash register told my friend PSU students don't get a discount for macs, yet my friend was told in THAT very store THAT day by someone else they did. Someone better get their facts straight, or someone was lying.

Either way this day does not make up for all the crap that store has put me through but it sure felt good to see the look on that guy's face. Its a small victory in the on going war. My friend stuck it to Best Buy today, soon when i buy my new computer i will do the exact same thing, and i cant wait!

MUSIC: Lady Gaga

A few weeks ago i heard someone on tv say, "Lady Gaga." I said, what the hell is a Lady Gaga? Then i forgot about it. In the next 5 days i heard about this Lady Gaga person about 10 times which got me thinking, seriously...who is THIS??

I even mentioned it to my friend, saying i heard the term Lady Gaga and now have heard about her so much but i don't know who she is or what she does. He said it was the same for him. So who is this new singer that is taking the country and world by storm? I decided to find out for myself.

I looked up pictures of this Lady Gaga first because i didn't even know what she looked like, let alone what songs she sang. She is a very innovative dresser, very odd at times, not just in her videos, but in real life as well. Her makeup can be extreme and her hair often looks fake. Its easy to see why she is popular. She obviously doesn't get dragged into trends, rather creates them.

I watched a minute or two of 4 of her videos one right after the other and although most sounded the same, (which is just her style) they were all pretty good. Very catchy and dance club-esque. I assume that is where her popularity started and spread to the average listener. I found out she was first a writer for musicians such as, Fergie, The Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears, and New Kids on the Block. When a producer found out she had a voice, she got a record deal. Some of her more famous songs are, Poker Face, Love Game, Just Dance, and Eh Eh Nothing Else I Can Say. All good songs in my opinion.

She is very original, its easy to see why a lot of people like her. Again her songs are VERY catchy, which is always the recipe for success. She's an American singer, born in New York in 1986. Lady Gaga is just her stage name of course, a music producer compared her vocal style to Freddie Mercury so she took the name Gaga from the Queen song Radio Ga-Ga. Check out her website at www.ladygaga.com/splash.aspx She's a really cool new singer and i'm glad i got to know her, i think 2009 was waiting for a person like her, the time is right as they say, but thats just my two cents.

LIFE: Bantam babies 2 weeks

Well two weeks have gone by and here are the baby bantams, they're growing up pretty fast as you can see. The little frizzle will definitely be a frizzle after all, its feathers are more and more frizzled as the days go by. This box is 3 times the size of their original. It doesn't look bigger because all the chicks are bigger but i assure you it is. I had to put two boxes together. Its the height of box technology. Its still too early to tell who will be roosters or hens.

LIFE: Bantam babies at 7 days

Well i've had the bantam chicks for 7 days now. They have been through 3 cardboard boxes and are really starting to grow. They are eating more and more each day. You can see their progress from day one til now. Their little wing feathers are starting to get a lot bigger You can see tiny tail feathers starting to appear as well. The suspected frizzle is showing little doubt now that that is exactly what it is, as you can see.