'The Hot Violinist'

... came across this talented gal in our "internet travels"...

... the "Hot Violinist" (http://www.thehotviolinist.com/my-story/)...

... Brilliant ... (and, yes - "hot" 'ta boot)...

... the Band...

... check out her "story"... just another one of many who was told to "give it up"...

... our kind of gal...

Return to Balance

... when over, people always ask about the "strange rough-hewn stone" that's been settin' on the coffee table at the "homestead" for years...

... no better time than the 'Vernal Equinox" and beginning of Spring for an explanation...

... the ancient 'Medicine Wheel' is a symbol of life's phases and it's cycles... the circle on the outside shows that life is a circle, always returning to itself... the spokes point to the four directions, and the quarters of the world... to the East is Spring, youth and energy... to the south is Summer, adolescence and strength... to the West is middle age, Autumn and knowledge... to the North is Winter, old age and wisdom... the point at the center represents the Great Spirit, whose name can also mean "ultimate mystery"... (text borrowed from a company named 'Nirvana')...

... the 'pictographs' are a few 'Native American' symbols... look 'em up...

'What Not' Again

... Mongolian Longbow...

... twisted a limb on the old 'Recurve Bow' last fall, so decided to pick up a new target bow - just in time for spring...

... arrived the other day - Mongolian-style 'Recurve Horsebow Longbow' - handmade in China - a lot nicer than anticipated for the price - 50# pull - picked up a dozen handmade, wooden, pheasant feather fletched arrows as well... got out today to try it out (still have to add a string nock) - shot very good using 'English-style' release from about thirty feet - can't wait for nicer weather to practice 'Mongolian-stye' thumb-release... nice looking bow as well - that's an artificial 'Red Cobra' snakeskin cover on that thing...

(Internet Photo)

... which asks the question "What's a Red Cobra? - never heard of one!?"... that's one above... actually called a 'Red Spitting Cobra'... East African habitat... nice lookin' snake... "... rarely bites predators or people - reserving it's poison for hunting or spraying... if provoked, it will rear up, hiss loudly and flare it's Cobra Hood... if after receiving this warning, the provocateur stupidly continues to antagonize the snake, the Cobra is likely to spray venom directly into the antagonists eyes... a direct ocular hit can cause permanent blindness and is certain to cause stupendous, searing pain... if bitten, you should seek treatment immediately...

(internet video)

... back to the bow - this is what it was originally built to do back in the day - in battle and from horseback...

... Clever Baitfishing Bird...

(internet video)

... Ha!.. someone sent us the link the other day...

... Great Photo...

(internet photo - property of 'melissalandresphotography.com')

... Brilliant!!!...

They're Just Rocks...

... a good friend sent to us a link to this location she discovered while doing some on-line research - is called the 'Iverson Movie Ranch', located outside Los Angeles in Chatsworth, California - heres the link - http://iversonmovieranch.blogspot.com/2010/07/welcome-to-our-obsession-iverson-movie.html... have yet to figure out how to make these links operational in Blogger... just "google" the name...

... the area was a pretty popular filming location for scores of Hollywood westerns back in the heyday of features as such - it has long since succumbed to "urban progress" - here's a few screen shots we borrowed from the link (clink on and enlarge the photos to view the captions)...

... 'Three Stooges Rock'...

... 'Center Rock'...

... 'Phineas'...

... don't know why, but lookin' at those old boulders buried in the middle of all that "urban sprawl" after defining the "wild west" landscape throughout all those films gives us the same feeling ya' get when ya' find out that the "big old bass" in the lake finally got hooked after all these years or that someone finally shot that "big old buck" that's been roaming the ridge forever... but, the same can be said for the "Pioneers" as well, who typically forge the way for civilization and in the process create a world that eventually makes them unnecessary and irrelevant...

WDHOF/Collapse of the 'Sick-le'

... while researching on-line the other day for an upcoming project at the "real job", which involves some inland (albeit tidal) water access and the work to follow, came across this organization that we weren't aware of...

... the 'Women Divers Hall of Fame' (www.wdhof.org)...

(photo property of 'WDHOF')

... heck of a group of gals - everything from scientists to soldiers, astronauts to sailors, doctors to "airmen" and all in between... not a "Miley, Brittney or Beyoncé" in the bunch...

(property of 'WDHOF')

... read every one of the short inductee profiles in the 'Members Page' of their website - here's one example - HA! - 5'-1" tall weighing 118lbs and wearing full diving dress of nearly 450lbs! - Amelia sounded like one tough "chick"...

(property of 'WDHOF')

... another...

(internet photo)

... remember 'Zale Parry' from the old 'Sea Hunt' TV series - seen here on set with badass 'Mike Nelson' (actor Lloyd Bridges) - currently have all 150+ episodes recorded on the DVR...

(internet photo)

... she was also the first 'Sports Illustrated' swimsuit cover - don't know why now-days they just include overpaid, scantily clad "girly girls"...

(internet photo)

... well, actually we do...

... very good job, ladies - we're very impressed - now want to go diving again...  

... do yourself a favor and visit their website - preferably with an equally impressionable young gal...

... speaking of tough gals (and guys)... after several inquiries as to us adding any new video content to the website (which we haven't done in awhile - simply because we don't have any) we decided to add some footage of a "spec-op" attempt at a "ground-up" ascent of the dreaded 'Sick-le' ice climb by Tim and Laura from a few years back ...'Collapse of the Sick-le'... dropped off some discs to 'Web Chief Jeff ' earlier today - he said that it should be available for viewing sometime mid-week - keep an eye out on the website 'Cinema' page for a view...

... had been hesitant to "post it up" for several years - not our best photography ("don't matter" anyway now-days - not HD) and is a bit of a "light hearted" look at what could easily have been a "catastrophic" situation if attempted by less experienced individuals...

(video clip)

... besides, we don't want to give the impression that we condone the notion of anyone going out and getting crushed under several tons of falling ice...

... later this week - check it out!... 

... Edit 03/02 - just noticed that the video is up and running on the website... the graphics didn't transfer too well - was wondering about that considering 'standard definition' original "print"... still lots of fun none the less...

Air Fiesta

... did a bit of "off roading" last Sunday - 'Wild Bill' and 'Stink' along for the ride...

... weekend earlier as well - solid sheet of ice that day along the "approach" - thawed a bit this day...

... local hangout - Bill stokin' the fire...

... "older than dirt" and countin'...

... a few local folks...

... a few more that followed - good people...

... several "more serious" machines passin' by...

... a few moons ago (via the 'wayback machine')...

... Ha!... at the time Bill went out and bought this giant 4WD Ford truck - full crew cab with 8ft bed - had to be at least 25ft long - a big truck back then - we used to to call it his '747' - proudly posing with it above during a great winter day... the same day this photo was taken we're headin' back "out of the woods" which includes descending a pretty steep hill - frozen solid... "... think ya' better keep to the shoulder Bill - looks like solid ice and pretty sketchy!!"... "... NAAA!"... next thing ya' know we're careening totally out of control down hill and pickin' up speed by the second - hit the brakes and ya' only went faster! - did a complete "360" in that big ass truck (without flipping!!) before he was able to catch the dirt shoulder and control...

... a lot younger 'Stink' that day as well...

... happy happy... joy joy...

Airman Mike

... received a few boxes of old 35mm slides from uncle 'Airman Mike' a few months ago with the request to scan them to digital disc format... said no problem... he was a long time USAF 'Airman' (long since retired) and had quite a few slides of his early deployment to 'Thule Air Base' in Greenland and later 'Vietnam'... quite a few places thereafter - no slides in the boxes so figured that he had lots of prints of those at home...

... said that there was no rush so I was takin' my time with them (many "civilian" shots as well)... unfortunately, he passed away a few weeks back before I could complete them all...

... here's a few from his 'Thule Air Base' collection as a short tribute to him and all those who keep us free to do lots of dumb, useless stuff like climb rocks, nearly drown themselves in whitewater rivers and post moronic on the internet (guilty on all counts) as well as all those (too many) who could care less and think that electricity comes out of a switch on the wall as well...

... first a quick geography lesson...

(internet photo)

... Greenland's 'Thule Air Base' from the sky - don't know what they call the large offshore island but the small "arctic butte-looking" formation just off shore in called 'Mt. Dundas' - the body of water is 'North Star Bay'... the airbase is the US Armed Forces northernmost installation located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle and provides "... missle warning, space surveillance and space control..." to all the good guys...

... posing in front of a transport helicopter - 'Airman Mike' on the right...

... photos are from 1959 - here's some type of radar installation we guess...

... appeared to be a lot of new construction goin' on...

... looks like fun...

... more radar and construction... personal note - while working for a testing company a while back we strength tested one of the hoisting rings they used to lift those large white radar canopies in place... at least that's what they told us it was...

... looks like some kind of 'Navy' reconnaissance plane...

... aerial photo of some warehouses and lots of above ground storage tanks...

... USAF transport plane...

... some surrounding wilderness...

... the frozen bay and what looks like some large trapped icebergs...

... some frozen rugged terrain - sorry for the quality of some of the photos but many of the old slides were scratched and faded...

...'Mt Dundas' and a small hut...

... frozen bay and shoreline...

... defense missle - pretty cool...

... emerging from the base "club" we bet... wonder what he's hidin' in that left pocket?...

... sled dog puppy - no matter who ya' are - if you got a camera in your hand you gotta' like dogs...

... and sunsets...

... fighter jet...

... with bad-ass pilot...

... and bad-ass 'Airman Mike'... Rest-in-Peace our friend...

... personal note...

... while visiting around Christmas-time 1963 he personally awarded to me these Air Force pins as promotion to (L-R) 'Senior Pilot', 'Missle Man' and 'Command Pilot'!! - a bit tarnished but still got 'em...

... as well as transfer of command of this missle train!!!...

... the train has long since been "decommissioned" - but that "exploding" target boxcar was tons of fun and the 'Switcher Diesel Engine' was sweet... the sub went on many successful bathtub missions as well...

... he had a lot of confidence in a six year old kid....

... a final quote... while visiting a few years back we got to talkin' and he made this comment... "I ask myself... if I had to do it all over again would I do anything different?... Naa!... You haven't lived until a coconut comes flying thru your tent at 60mph during a monsoon!..." ...

... our kind of guy...