Image for October 21, 2011 - Early Morning Beach Hike

I got up early today and got a quick two mile hike in on the beach. Now that the warm weather is done, the beach has been abandoned to the joggers and dog owners and wanders. I had Peter Gabriel's soundtrack from "The Last Temptation  of Christ" (The Passion) on the iPod and it was the perfect way to start this weekend. I am off today, taking a long weekend.

I also came across this huge jellyfish washed up on the beach. The low morning sun made it's transparent shape looked like some alien being, at least to my mind.

Have a great weekend!

OK HW

A Friend of a Monkey is a Friend of Mine...

I am an animal lover. I particularly love primates of all kinds. Monkeys, Gorillas, Chimpanzees, big, small, tail, no-tail, doesn't matter, I feel a special connection to our hairy little siblings. A couple of years ago, I stumbled across an article about the good folks at the Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary in Florida. Their mission is to,

"...provide permanent, high-quality sanctuary care for abused or unwanted New World primates from around the United States who have been cast-off from the pet trade, retired from research, or confiscated by authorities."

Monkey's are highly intelligent and social beings, so it breaks my heart to read on the web site some of the sad, cruel experiences that they experienced before they found their way to the sanctuary. This year I decided to sponsor a monkey, Miki-Moo and have added Jungle Friends to my list of worthy causes. If you have read this far, then you know what's coming, I know times are tight, but consider throwing these folks a few bucks. They do good work and deserve the support.

I'll leave you with a little monkey video from the Jungle Friends web site and a quote from the comedian Steven Wright:

"If you had a million Shakespeares, could they write like a monkey?"

OK HW

Double Rainbow!

This evening an intense storm rolled through the area setting off the severe weather robots on the radio and creating some groovy patterns on the Doppler radar. At one point the angry clouds parted and the sky took on a weird peachy hue. I looked out the front window and was greeted by the sight of a rainbow, so clear and vibrant that I pulled my shoes, grabbed the camera and ran outside. It was a full rainbow, with well-defined ends going to the horizon on both sides. Then I noticed the faint ghost of a second arc on the outside of the main rainbow. SCORE! DOUBLE RAINBOW!

I quickly took some pictures and then flipped the camera into video mode because I couldn't get the entire rainbow in one shot. My camera work leaves a little to be desired, but I think the video captures the moment much better then the still does. A few minutes after I shot this, the rainbow was completely gone, leaving only a small lesson behind. The magic doesn't last forever, so grab it when you can,

OK HW

A Monstrous Weekend

Little Eddie Commands!

Last Saturday I stopped in to MONSTER FEST, a one day monster movie gathering in Chesapeake, Va. It is a sweet, old-school event that is more interested in Frankenstein and Godzilla and Wolfman, then the latest torture porn crap that serves as a horror film these days. They have a costume contest for the kids, young and old and do an all-night movie marathon and of course panel discussions on everything from how to write a horror novel to documentaries on horror show hosts like Dr. Madblood and The Bowman Body. It always takes me back to my childhood of staying up late to watch the old Universal horror films and rainy afternoons pouring over Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.

 One of my favorite things this year was getting to see a replica of the Munsters Koach! This full-size, street legal beauty was built by Rucker Posey out of Richmond, Va and he's also built the other Munster rides. Check out his web site for more info. Rob Floyd and the other folks who organize MONSTER FEST did a great job this year. It's a great way to kick-off October and the Halloween season.

OK HW

Munsters Koach