A Hectic Friday Random 10

Trying to get work done before (hopefully) heading off to trade in a clunker for a new car; here’s what’s popping up on the media player:

1. “Komm Süsser Tod, Komm Sel’ge” – Gordian Knot, Gordian Knot
2. “Deadly Nightshade” – Brand X, Masques
3. “Homecoming” – Yellowjackets, Samuria Samba
4. “Life’s Incredible Again” – Michael Giacchino, The Incredibles soundtrack
5. “Pixel Dream” – Ozric Tentacles, Live at the Pongmaster’s Ball
6. “Girls with Guns” – Tommy Shaw, Girls with Guns
7. “The Doomsday Machine/Goodbye Mr. Decker/Kirk Does It Again” – Fred Steiner, Star Trek TV soundtrack Vol. 1
8. “I Go to Rio” – Pablo Cruise, Worlds Away
9. “The Balance” – The Moody Blues, Question of Balance
10. “Dead Already” – Thomas Newman, American Beauty soundtrack

Back to the grind!

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The Moth Whisperer

Okay, one question a person might ask me regarding photographing insects is, “Why moths?”  Good question.  I guess it comes down to:

• there are so many varieties; well over 11,000 have been identified in N. America
• identifying them can be an enjoyable challenge.  Thanks, Moth Photographers Group and BugGuide
• they mostly hold still (and will sometimes allow handling), or are a fun exercise in patience and stealth
• they don’t sting, bite, or emit an odor (not a huge consideration, but still)
• there is a broad appeal — many are quite beautiful

Like I mentioned in my previous post, it became somewhat of a game at band camp to collect a moth in the early morning and “wear” it on my shirt.  Eventually, it became a burden when some of the kids there began bringing them to me, but I had an opportunity to photograph a lot of those, too, if I wasn’t busy with other things, and could educate the kids about some of the ones of which I had previous knowledge.

 Here are a few of the better photos from last week — hopefully I can add them (and the many others) to my insect website in the near future.  Enjoy!

Band Camp

A few weeks back I considered that it might be “fun” to help chaperone at band camp again this year — even though K had graduated and I was now an alumni parent.  Besides having a surplus of vacation, it provided an entertaining way to spend a week in the woods where the cabins were air conditioned, the food was good and plentiful, and internet access was non-existent.  I’d chaperoned three other years (skipping K’s freshman year) so this year would make a nice round four.

Pop! Goes the Friday Random 10

Gonna find out what kind of music POPulates the ol’ external harddrive under the “Pop” genre:

1. “One Way Street” – Go West, Aces and Kings: The Best of Go West
2. “Ocean Breeze” – Pablo Cruise, Pablo Cruise
3. “Heart of the Matter” – Jon Anderson, Song of Seven
4. “Into the Wild” – Icehouse, Measure for Measure
5. “Europa and the Pirate Twins” – Thomas Dolby, The Golden Age of Wireless
6. “Crazy [12″ mix]” – Icehouse, Man of Colours
7. “Graceland” – Paul Simon, Graceland
8. “More Than This” – Roxy Music, Avalon
9. “The King is Dead” – Go West, Aces and Kings: The Best of Go West
10. “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You” – Bee Gees, Here at Last…Live

Bonus track:  “Sub Rosa Subway” – Klaatu, Peaks

Doubled up some – you can tell my pop selections are more limited.  Love “King is Dead” – great lounge lizard feel to it.

Garry Roggenburk, ftw

Stumbled across a vintage Twins card in eBay the other day that caught my attention:

1966 Topps #582 Garry Roggenburk

Garry card is known in the baseball card world as a “common”, but this card is more than that.  At the time Topps was releasing these cards, the final “set” of cards (the highest numbers) for the year always ended up with fewer cards printed, and therefore their value was higher, since they are rarer.  #582 is the highest Twins card from 1966, so even as a common, its value is relatively high.

On the back, it says, “[in 1964], the southpaw developed a sore arm in the spring and wasn’t able to throw a single pitch for the entire campaign.”  Now days, it would instead say something like “doctors found a partially torn anterior cruciate spheriod ligament” and after getting three opinions, complicated laser/nuclear microsurgery is performed; back then the team trainer would just rub dirt on it and hope for the best.

Still have three more high cards from 1966 to pick up, but nice to have this one in the fold, and at a reasonable price, too.

Friday Random 10 – Soundtrack Edition

Giving the Sountracks genre a whirl again…

1. “Reflections of Earth” – Disney, Walt Disney World Millenium Celebration
2. “Creation of Tron” – Wendy Carlos, Tron
3. “The Prophecy” – Howard Shore, The Fellowship of the Ring
4. “The Unsung War” – Keiko Kobayashi, ACE COMBAT 5: The Unsung War
5. “Vespertillo” – Hans Zimmer, Batman Begins
6. “Love’s Dream” – Rick Wakeman, Lisztomania
7. “Kaonashi (No Face)” – Joe Hisaishi, Spirited Away
8. “Kids Return” – Joe Hisaishi, Kids Return
9. “Dream” – Brad Mehldau, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
10. “National Treasure Suite” – Trevor Rabin, National Treasure

trivia:  Many don’t realize this, but since video games can earn as much as (or more than) a mainstream movie, many of their soundtracks are as outstanding as their movie counterparts.

Polk County Fair, and Family Reunion

The Runner family recently returned from spending a few days back in God’s Country — NW Minnesota. The Polk County Fair was the impetus for drawing the family back to the homestead from all over the country (and world!), and a person couldn’t have asked for better weather.  And amazingly, no mosquitos!

Almost the entire family was able to attend. While my sister and her husband couldn’t make it from TX, two of the kids could, which was great.  Having Max from Germany was the icing on the cake.

from left to right: the Runner family, the Double-S family, Grandpa & Grandma, the AZ family, Max, the MN family, and TX family representatives

I was able to drag K and Wm along to play with the alumni band in the July 4^th parade, and met several friends and former classmates as well.  Much rhubarb was consumed (in sauce, pie, ice cream, and cake form) and I was able to enjoy some licorice ice cream — my favorite!

Looking forward to the family getting back together the end of the year for P2’s wedding…