The Walk Family - Mach 1

Here is the Walk family. My Dad could give further details, but it is the only picture of all of them together that I know of. Very cool photo!!!

Reason to be THANKFUL: #134

I'm thankful that I'm not Roy Sullivan.

He was a Virginia Forest Ranger who had an incredible attraction to lightning... or rather lightning had an attraction to him. Over his 36-year career as a ranger, Sullivan was struck by lightning seven times - and survived each jolt, but not unscathed. His seventh strike put him in the Guinness Book of World Records:

In 1942, the first lightning strike shot through Sullivan's leg and knocked his big toenail off.
In 1969, a second strike burned off his eyebrows and knocked him unconscious.
In 1970, another strike left his shoulder seared.
In 1972, his hair was set on fire and Roy had to dump a bucket of water over his head to put it out.
On August 7, 1973, another bolt ripped through his hat and hit him on the head, set his hair on fire again, threw him out of his truck and knocked his left shoe off.
On June 5, 1976, a sixth strike left him with an injured ankle.
On June 25th, 1977, the last lightning bolt to hit Roy Sullivan sent him to the hospital with chest and stomach burns.

His wife was also struck once, when a sudden storm welled up as she and her husband were out hanging wash on the back yard clothesline.

On September 28, 1983, Roy Sullivan aged 71, reportedly committed suicide. He'd shot himself.

Reasons to be THANKFUL: #365

I am thankful I am not Ramesh Sahu.

He works in the sanitation department of Calcutta, cleaning out the city's sewers. Rakesh sits in a low crouch at the bottom of a seven-foot-deep manhole, sloshing away in a swirl of human waste and sediment. Equipped with a hoe and a steel bar, and wearing only a pair of loose purple underpants, Rakesh empties the thick black sludge from a clogged sewer into a bucket that his fellow crew members hoist up and dump in the middle of a narrow road. A small mountain of decaying excrement accumulates between the manhole and a rickety wooden vegetable cart. Two co-workers reach down and yank Rakesh out by his sore, extended arms, his body splattered with putrid muck. At 27, with a wife, three young daughters and a monthly income of about $100, he has been a sewage worker for the Delhi Jal (Water) Board for the past 10 years.

Reasons to be THANKFUL: # 275

I am so thankful that I wasn't around the ancient Roman emperor TIBERIUS. He was one of the most depraved madmen to ever be an emperor... In addition to murdering anyone he chose for whatever reason he could devise, he was also a sexual monster. Thus:

"...[On Capri] he devised a pleasance for his secret orgies: teams of wantons of both sexes, selected as experts in deviant intercourse and dubbed "analists", copulated before him in triple unions to excite his flagging passions. Its bedrooms were furnished with the most salacious paintings and sculptures, as well as with an erotic library, in case a performer should need an illustration of what was required. Then in Capri's woods and groves he arranged a number of nooks of venery where boys and girls dressed as Pans and nymphs solicited outside bowers and grottoes. He acquired a reputation for still grosser depravities that one can hardly bear to tell or be told, let alone believe. The story is also told that once at a sacrifice, attracted by the acolyte's beauty, he lost control of himself and, hardly waiting for the ceremony to end, rushed him off and debauched him and his brother, the flute-player, too; and subsequently, when they complained of the assault, he had their legs broken."

Yes, I am thankful that I wasn't unfortunate enough to be one of his MANY victims.

Soul Stealer

Stare into the eyes of the soul stealer.



He will drive away your will to live. Remember, take care how you stare at the soul stealer's eyes. For, e'er too long, they will stare into you...

Vera Cruz

I saw this flick recently. Here is my brief review...

Pros: Good action, good acting, decent story line, and good cinematography.

Cons: A few bad edits, a couple plot holes, and some underdeveloped characters.

Conclusion: How can you pass this one up? You can't and you shouldn't anyway! This is a great flick with an all-star cast. Plenty of action, and a cool plot. This thing feels something like a proto-Spaghetti Western, and it is very good!!! I highly recommend it.

Favorite scene: When Lancaster guns down these three bad guys(dude named Charlie and two cronies) who challenge him in the Mexican village. They say, "We string with Charlie." He guns them all down suddenly and Lancaster says "Anyone else string with Charlie?" of course no one replies! Haha!

Raven up a tree

Hello, this is Raven. I enjoy being up a tree. I don't get to do it as much I like, but aside from a clean comfortable litter box, a cozy bedspread, or a full bowl of cat food, there is nothing I like better than being up a tree.

Dad + Golf = DY-NO-MITE

Here is a terrific picture (worth a thousand words) of some of Dad's golf handiwork. 

 

He hit the ball onto the green from maybe 80 yards out, and the ball stuck. That means Pop got some backspin on the spheroid! He was a few feet from the pin. Good shot! Golf Course: Riverside Hole: #5 Date: November 24th, 2009

Woke up with a sore throat

Hello all! I woke up today with a nice sore throat. The hell of it is, I was just getting over the sickness I came down with on November 1st (the night after Halloween as a matter of fact). Guess I'll be sick ALL of November. On the 5th of November (and really that whole week) I had bad laryngitis. Sucks. Oh well watcha gonna do?

The Dallas Romoboys

Yes, here we are in November and all of us Dallas fans are awaiting with giddy excitement the month of December, when Dallas' wheels fly off and we blow our playoff chances. Only this year, we got a bonus... we started sucking in NOVEMBER!! It seems if Romo has a bad day we all have a bad day.

We have been shut out in the first half for two consecutive games. Wow. In the last two games our offense has scored a total of 14 points. Huh? The hell of it is... we won one of those games! Ha ha ha!!

Indio Black (aka Adios Sabata)

This is a good movie. Here is my brief review...

Pros: Excellent music, decent acting, very good plot, and tons of action.

Cons: A couple of lame characters.

Conclusion: This movie is really really good. It has everything that every fan of Spaghetti Westerns want, plus Yul Brynner. Tons of action and some creative fight scenes make this imminently viewable. See it if you can.

Django

This movie is very good. Here is my brief review...

Pros: Excellent plot, good directing, good acting, nice camera work, good costuming, pretty good music.

Cons: A bit far-fetched, seems a bit one dimensional at times.

Conclusion: This movie is a must-see. For any fan of the genre, Django is required viewing. It is quite violent and quite unbelievable, but nevertheless it is a fun and action-packed Italian Western. Of course it is nowhere near the quality of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, but hey... what is?

Thanksgiving

Hello friends. As you know we have reached thanks giving. This is the time of year that I begin to think of others. You know... the kind of people who could use a little of god's grace, this holiday season. People like this...

Yes... stooping to help a fellow traveler along life's highway is what Thanksgiving is all about. So remember, if you can't help a complete stranger, or a phazed-out, chowder headed, moron, then just eat a double portion on Turkey day!

   

 Happy Holidays!

Hang 'Em High

This movie kind of sucks. Here is my brief review. 

Pros: Clint looks awesome, really good acting, cool title, great scenery, cinematography is nice, and Clint looks awesome. 

Cons: Bad directing, bad script, bad editing, too many plot loopholes, and a lame female sub-plot. 

Conclusion: This sucker has plot holes and inconsistencies big enough to drive a truck through. I won't detail them here, but suffice it to say, by the time you see our hero skipping out on the 6 man hanging to bang a prostitute, and then later being riddled by bullets without being killed, you'll start smelling the stink too. And i haven't even mentioned the snore-fest pic-nic scene. Where's Tuco when you need him?

The most exciting scene in the whole film is a half-baked fight between Eastwood and a very young and spry Bruce Dern. Anyway, skip this yawn-inducing western.

It Can Be Done, Amigo

Saw this recently. Here is my brief review.

Pro: Very original plot, kind of funny, decent acting, decent directing, good music, and a satisfactory ending.

Con: Drags a bit, and the picture quality on the copy I saw was AWFUL!

Conclusion: I'd probably like this decent little SW farce if I saw a better quality copy. 3 out of 5 stars.

Favorite scene: When Bud Spencer swindles a prisoner out of his Turkey dinner. When him and Jack Palance fight at the end.

Lawman

This is a very good movie. Here is my brief review.

Pro: Great acting, good plot, well photographed, good action, well fleshed out characters, and nicely directed.

Con: Some dull parts, a tad "talky", a love scene I didn't need to see, and a rather bleak ending.

Conclusion: It is a very good movie. I liked it. It is a bleak ending, but it is still kinda cool. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

The Professionals

This is a great flick! I recommend it highly! Here is my brief review.

Pro: Great acting, terrific directing, amazingly well photographed, good story, and Claudia Cardinale.

Con: Some huge plot holes, and a couple 2 dimensional characters.

Conclusion: Excellent movie. See it immediately. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Great Silence

This is a good flick. Here is my brief review.

Pro: Well directed, good acting, great plot, nicely photographed, good music and tons of violence.

Con: Bleak. Probably the bleakest ending in all of western films. It drags in some parts, and there's a love scene I didn't need to see.

Conclusion: A must see SW. 4 out of 5 stars.

Keoma

This movie is pretty good. Here is my brief review...

Pro: Well directed, good action, beautifully photographed, good acting, and a very decent plot.

Cons: Some of the music. The main theme is dreadful. A woman wails like she is in pain and you can't understand what she is saying anyway. Then it is made even more dreadful when a male voice, performed by someone who CANNOT sing, comes in and basically sings what Keoma is thinking at the moment. Worst part? When they sing at the same time.

Conclusion: This is a must see SW! When it was over I felt like I had just seen a very good action movie. It's a little bleak. In fact it is VERY bleak. But hey, it can't all be peaches and cream. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Meridian 2009

Here is an update on Dad's ol' Stompin Grounds! Me and Izzy swung by there and took a look around the other day. A lot has changed, but a lot has stayed creepily the same. Anyway, here are some pix!

Izzy at Meridian Lake


Grandmother's House #1


Grandmother's House #2


Little Granddaddy Smith's House


The Courthouse! Beautiful!


Nice!!

The Cowboys Won! Yay!

Our good ol' Cowboys pulled off a victory against the Seahawks. They are now 5 and 2 on the year. Looking at their schedule, I think they could easily go 13 and 4, possibly even 14 and 3. If we stay healthy! Bottom line. If Romo does good, we win.



GO COWBOYS!!!!!

Halloween 2009

Oh Boy! Halloween 2009 has come and gone and what a time was had! Halloween landed on a Saturday this year and great fun was had by all! Dad of course hosted his annual Halloween candy give-away! Dad's house looked great as usual and he said there was lots of kids this year! Good! I hope the tradition continues forever! Here is Dad's house decorations!!






My wife Izzy and myself dressed up and had fun at a dance at Oak Hills country club! It was fun! Everyone was dressed up! Izzy looked so cute. She dressed up like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz!! She looked awesome! See for yourself!



As for me, I dressed up as a grim-reaper type thing I like to call "Death Warmed Over"! Here it is...



We seemed to get a lot of positive feedback on both our costumes, so I am happy about that!!! I love Halloween!