Seriously??

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Because who would believe this without a picture? I'm telling you, ya can't make this stuff up.
 See my other work at my RedBubble Site!

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wherein i narrowly save my birthday party throwing reputation

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Yeah. Um. Lately? Been a little busy here at Casa Mojo. Dad's been running around like the proverbial headless chicken between work and kids and grandkids and parent and girlfriend and... So as he's heading out the door this morning he says to me, "Do something for Margaret's birthday will ya?" Right Dad. Maybe you missed the fact that I don't have thumbs? But it's okay. I'm a professional, I'll get through it. But he left me nothing to work with. Thanks a lot Dad. But I found this amusing video of tree-climbing goats in Morocco (no, I'm not kidding) that seemed appropriate for the occasion. (Of course these goats prefer the commando approach rather than panties, but if you lived in Morocco, wouldn't you?) Enjoy!

And Margaret? Happy Birthday dahling. You're beautiful babe, don't ever change. And let's do lunch. Soon! Have your people call my people...

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Dear Sarah Palin:

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RE: Your assertion that "the people shouldn't be working for the government, the government should be working for the people" in a loud and obnoxious voice on national television.

I am a state government employee. Ergo, I work for the government. I also got a Federal Income Tax refund this year for the first time in 12 years. It seems the government is working for me just fine. Your Marxist attempts at inciting the Industrial Proletariat are laughable.
That is all.

Rebuttal (Courtesy of http://palinspeak.com/)

Taxpayers cannot be looked to as the bailout, as the solution to the problems on Wall Street. So, what I've done up there is a mess though, the economy is a 2,000 acre plot of land and it's about putting government back on the world.
Sure.
They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska. That's why we have got to keep an eye on Russia and Putin and some of these companies, that abuse there has got to look at a crisis time like this. Reform that actually happens is tough and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, growing the surplus so that we have got to put the pressure on Iran and we have seen change there. The interesting thing in the people.
It's gotta be good guys. I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to ya. It's just too impacting, we had hours to talk about, America being the stinking corpse, should be wiped off the face of the message that Americans are recognizing this also.
It is, and the answers.

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Thursday Challenge #59: "Something Different"

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"Definitely Different"
Raleigh, NC - December 2009 (Click to embiggen)
Next Week's Challenge: "Romantic"

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Thematic Photographic 83: "What I Did On My Vacation" v.7.0 - If These Jaws Could Talk

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"But they don't..."
Surf City, NC - December 2009(Click to embiggen)

 Hosted by Written Inc.

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December 30th, 2009 yielded some photos I really loved. But for the first time in a while, the camera was not driving the agenda. It was ismply along for the ride. Or should I say walk. I spent the day learning that there is more in heaven and earth than can be captured by my Canon's sensor. This wasn't the end of the day, but it was the last of the photographs.

Last summer I encountered a 60-foot fiberglass shark outside another store like this one (which you've seen here in the past). Little did I know that a 60-foot fiberglass crocodile (or maybe alligator, I can never tell) awaited me a few miles to the south. The artist, Bob Duato (of Bob's Original Sculptures, LLC in Panama City, FL), has apparently done several of these in various locations throughout the southeast. Unfortunately, there's very little in the way of news that I could find online about him, his copmpany or his other works. We had stopped here after leaving the beach hoping to find a particular item of tacky beachwear, but unfortunately the place was closed.

And ya know, I didn't even care.

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Thematic Photographic 83: "What I Did On My Vacation" v.2.0 - (Network) Bridge to Nowhere

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"I have to ask..."
North Topsail Beach, NC - December 2009(Click to embiggen)

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Within a few hours of my arrival at North Topsail Beach, I had discovered a new Mystery of the Island. First off, the color coding of this wire doesn't match anything I'm familiar with, so I have no idea what kind of cable it used to be. It doesn't use the colors I know from hooking up phone lines or ethernet connections, so I have to go on the assumption that it was for some kind of Network Beyond My Understanding. Since Topsail Island was once a US Navy proving ground (before the tourist industry discovered it) that means it could have been for just about anything. Second, I can't figure out how it got to be where it is. Third, I don't know if it was actually connected to something at one time or if it's a broken piece that was washed up and buried and is now sticking up out of the sand making me ask questions. All I do know is that it isn't serving the function it was designed for and it -- along with dozens of other similar artifacts -- are sprouting up out of the beach all along the shoreline. I suppose the question is whether it would do more damage to dig the stuff up or simply leave it there to be eroded away by the surf and the sand.

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The Spiffy Report: Happy (belated) Anniversary!

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"Sorry guys, I'm just a bit distracted lately."

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January 3, 2009
He Said:

The wedding came off with a hitch, which was part of the plan. The Tiny House was stuffed to the gizzard with friends and family, most of whom drove over an hour to be here. I’m extremely grateful to the folks who came to celebrate with us! Bloggers you know were here as well, notably Kenju (and Mr. Kenju), Renn, Mojo, and Tiff, who played the part of Bride.

She Said:

"Saturday was a pretty darned good day.

There were snacks
And flowers
And friends and family
And a minister
And a bride and groom

There was the mention of death's bony finger^*, words of love, an exchange of rings, and a kiss. No, TWO kisses. BONUS!"

Those of you who know me best know this: I don't shoot weddings. I just don't. It's not my thing for a lot of reasons and there are people (who are much better at it than I) who will be thrilled beyond reason to do the job for you. But it's not for me. But in the last (counting on fingers) eight years there have been exactly two exceptions that prove the rule. The first of these involved people you never heard of (though a couple of their photos did sneak onto my blog). the second case, however, was the social event of the season for Western Wake Forest, the Spiffy Wedding wherein Tiff and Biff pledged their undying love and devotion one to the other in the presence of witnesses and one tres cool minister who could even pull off Death's bony finger with aplomb. (Don't ask.)

What's disturbing is that I was at this wedding, and even provided the twenty-seven 8 x 10 color glossy photographs with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was should they ever need evidence that these nuptials actually took place. And despite all that...

The anniversary of this blessed event completely slipped by doddering old man's mind until just a while ago when Tiff left a comment on ... one of today's other posts. (I forget which one)

Guys, I can only chalk it up advancing age and recent distraction. But I hope the new waffle iron is kicking some blueberry butt and taking names.

Happy (belated) Anniversary!

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^*Specifically, there was mention of pulling Death's bony finger.

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My World Tuesday #63: I Never Would've Believed It

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"Winterfest? Seriously?"
Raleigh, NC - December 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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Let's clear one thing up right up front. Raleigh, NC has hosted the NHL Entry Draft. It has hosted two Stanley Cup Finals, and one Stanley Cup Champion. It has been promised an NHL All-Star Game at some future point. (Yeah, about that? Mr. Bettman? Gary? Can I call you Gary? Still waiting on that one pal.)

For all that, Raleigh is never, ever gonna host the NHL's Winter Classic Game. Not gonna happen. Because the Winter Classic Game is played outdoors. And for that, you have to be able to have ice ... outdoors. And for that to happen, you have to have sub-freezing weather, right?

Right?

Okay, apparently not. Enter some engineering geniuses who've figured out a way to keep ice frozen outside... in a climate where you'll never find a pond frozen hard enough for a small dog to walk on. The rink is about 20% of the size of an NHL rink, measuirng around 40' x 85' and will remain open until January 31st as part of a two-month celebration called "Winterfest". If you've got a half hour, the local ABC affiliate, WTVD has video of the Opening Night celebration that took place December 4. (Apologies to Big Apple residents for the comparisons to Rockefeller Plaza... it's just growing pains. They'll get over it.)

Maybe it's just me, but when the mean temperature for the month of December is probably 50° F or better, I have a hard time associating that with something called Winteranything. Granted it'll get cold here in spells, but overall? I have to wonder what kind of shape this rink is in most days.

But hey. Looks like people are having fun and that's the key. So what do I know?

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My World Tuesday #61: The Only Thing Missing (is the mirror ball)

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"Fayetteville Street Disco District - Wide View"
Raleigh, NC - November 2009 (Click to embiggen)

"Fayetteville Street Disco District - Close up View"
Raleigh, NC - November 2009 (Click to embiggen)

"Fayetteville Street Disco District - Side View"
Raleigh, NC - November 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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On the same night I shot last week's photo of The R Line, I got this collection from the southern end of Fayetteville Street. Since this is a family meme, I won't quote my initial reaction on spotting the four alien mothership anchor points in the first shot. I'm not sure how the MWT Team would feel about that kind of language after all. But there issued forth several refrains of another 3-letter acronym before I left the "Disco District". If you look at the second shot, you'll see the "rainbow tower" in action. The rainbow spirals up toward the top of the tower, which then lights up in one of a set number of colors. (Four would make sense since there are four towers, but there may be more. I didn't stay around to map it out.)

If you can stand are interested in seeing one of the towers in a fuller view, I had a top-to-bottom shot of this same tower in this Thematic Photographic post earlier this week. And if you'd like to see these during daylight hours, fellow Raleighite Carver has this same section of Fayetteville Street featured in her My World Tuesday today. (No we didn't plan this. Honest!)

The solid lights at the top alternate among the four towers creating the effect of... Actually I don't know what they're supposed to be creating here. Maybe it's just me, but this seems like an awfully big investment in something that might be cool the first time you see it (or might not) but after that... not so much. But what really sealed it for me -- and caused me to utter the phrase that became my title for this week -- was the "Saturday-Night-Fever-dance-floor-turned-sideways" display in the third photo.

With so many things in the city's infrastructure needing attention (and money) I really have to question what the idiots good folks who spend our municipal tax dollars were thinking when they hatched this scheme.

Because damn.

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Thematic Photographic 78: "Different" v.7.0 - Another JJ Original

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"Where Else But Jimmy John's?"
Greensboro, NC - December 2009 (Click to embiggen)

 Hosted by Written Inc.

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For those of you not from the US, this may require some explanation. Because I'm not sure that the restroom is referred to as "the can" anywhere else in the world. (Maybe it is, but if you've never heard that reference then this sign is at best not funny and at worst very confusing!) I didn't notice this pictographic colloquialism immediately though. I was too busy trying to read the upside down "vanity plate" over the door. Crude? Perhaps. Funny? Wellll... yeah, I laughed (in that groaning-at-a-bad-joke kind of way). Different? Most definitely.

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Thematic Photographic 78: "Different" v.6.0 - Well That Bites

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"A Different Kind of Beach Toy"
North Topsail Beach, NC - July 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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This is the little brother of the 60-foot fiberglass shark I featured in Thematic Photographic 63: "Big" a while back. I'd have to call this a "different" approach to marketing. I mean would you shop for beach supplies at a place that had a giant shark's mouth for a door? Personally? I don't want that much of a reminder that I'm sharing an ocean with fish that can swallow me whole. Maybe the idea was to scare you off the beach and into the store, but I gotta wonder how many small children have been traumatized by the decor here.

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Thematic Photographic 78: "Different" v.4.0 - Not Subtle

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"Sculpture Sutra: It's Art. Get Over It."
Greensboro, NC - December 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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This isn't the first sculpture from the campus of UNC Greensboro I've featured here. And it actually isn't even the first shot of this sculpture I've featured here. It's just the first time I've shown it from this angle. Doesn't leave much to the imagination does it? Even my mother could figure this one out. Sometimes art is subtle. Other times... not so much.

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Thematic Photographic 78: "Different" v.3.0 - You Were Warned

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"Over The Rainbow"
Raleigh, NC - November 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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I told you yesterday that you'd see some of the city planners' ... different ideas on the aesthetic of lighting effects. And here is one of the premier examples. this is Fayetteville Street, the main street of Raleigh's Central Business District and home to no fewer than five major banking institutions' local headquarters. This ... whatever this is, sits at the corner of the site of the now demolished Raleigh Civic and Convention Center (the battle over which is a whole other post). If you're wondering, those black specks underneath the rainbow are oak leaf silhouettes. (Raleigh being the City of Oaks, it makes sense, yeah?) The rainbow kaleidoscopes its way up the tower, and the top then lights up in one of four colors. The colors at the top alternate, so that it and the other three towers just like it all display different colors as their respective rainbows climb from the base. Throw in a bank of rainbow themed lights along the sidwalk (that look like they were salvaged from Club 54) and all that's missing is the mirror ball. Only here, that would probably be the mirror acorn like that big brass one they drop here on New Year's Eve. (Raleigh being the City of Oaks, it makes sense, yeah?) The new Raleigh Convention Center has a similar lighting setup, where the lights along the side of the building change colors at intervals leading me to wonder exactly who the city hired to design all this. But you gotta admit. It's different.

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Thematic Photographic 78: "Different" v.2.0 - Blacklight Power

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"A One-Eyed, One-Horned... Oh Nevermind..."
Raleigh, NC - November 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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You might think this blacklight poster look is a holiday decoration gone horribly wrong. That'd be a reasonable expectation, but it would also be an incorrect one. No, this Progress Energy substaion is always lit up like my bedroom back in high school. I have no idea why. Perhaps because it's within walking distance of a half dozen popular downtown night spots and they wanted it to blend in. Or maybe there's a more practical reason. But whatever the reason, I've never seen this kind of setup before, though -- as you'll see in the next couple of days -- Raleigh's city fathers have some .. "different" ideas about lighting aesthetics.

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Thematic Photographic 78: "Different" v.1.0 - A Disgruntled Elf?

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"Bet They Don't Have Elven Rickshaw-Wallahs in Mumbai"
Raleigh, NC - November 2008 (Click to embiggen)

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Normally I don't publish photos of people unless they're performing or competing in some kind of event. But seriously, could you see this shot and not take it? This is one of the drivers for Raleigh Rickshaw, a... I guess three-year-old company now that pedals visitors around the downtown district in search of ... whatever they're in search of. "Pedal cabs" as they're sometimes known here in the States, aren't unique to Raleigh of course. The owner of the company brought the idea with him from Charleston, SC when he moved here. Tonka's Auntie Daryl featured a similar rig in Manhattan on one of her posts a whle back (though you'd have to ask her which one, I don't remember). And of course, in other coutries, cycle rickshaws are quite common (though gas-powered autorickshaws are replacing them). But of all the photos and movies and other media I've seen, I have not once seen a rickshaw driven by an elf. So this was a natural for this week's Thematic Photographic theme: "Different". What's next? Spongebob Bus Driver?

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Macro Monday #32: It'll Have To Do

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"Refrigerate After Opening? Heh. It should last so long."
Raleigh, NC - March 2009 (Click to embiggen)

 Hosted at Lisa's Chaos

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Monochrome Monday #50: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Air Show

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"Actually, I Wasn't At All Amused"
Winston Salem, NC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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Is Anyone Surprised By This?

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"What a Maroon"
Washington, DC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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