San Antonio Sunset, 97 degrees

Testing the new camera, part II.

~~JD~~

Wednesday Morning Overcast San Antonio

Testing out the new camera.

~~JD~~

Curseo of the Joker Part III: When jokers become Jokers

Just to Prove my theory that "There's no such thing as a Criminal Genius", here comes proof from the Associated Press, via the Northwest Indiana Vidette-Times:

Holy hooligans! Phony 'Joker' arrested in Michigan
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

THREE RIVERS, Mich. - Police in Michigan have arrested a man who they say tried to steal posters and other items related to the new Batman movie from a cinema lobby while dressed up as the Joker.

Detective Mike Mohney said Monday 20-year-old Spencer Taylor of Three Rivers has been booked for investigation of larceny and malicious destruction of property.

Taylor is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 5 in St. Joseph County District Court.

There is no telephone listing under his name in the Three Rivers area.

Mohney says officers who were dispatched early Sunday to the theater arrived to find employees restraining a man wearing a purple suit, a green wig and face paint in the style of Batman's nemesis in "The Dark Knight."

Heh.

~~JD~~

Be Still, My Soul

Just feeling it was necessary to post this today. Happy Sunday.

Be Still, My Soul

Words: Katharina von Schlegel, 1752. Music: Jean Sibelius, 1899.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part III); July is the Ugliest Month

Busy week around South Texas.

Dolly hit Category 2 just before she came ashore around Padre island, and just as the warmest part of the day was really ramping up. As a result, she cartwheeled from a low-grade Category 1 right up to a strengthening Category 2 very quickly -- so quickly, in fact, that the storm continued to strengthen briefly even after it was mostly ashore.


Even last night Dolly continued to maintain it's rotational momentum and spiral off lots of dense, dangerous thunderstorms, like the ones that hit San Antonio Thursday. A tornado breifly touched down on the near south side of San Antonio. Damage was limited to a few square blocks near the Patrician Movement Detox Center I used to work at a few years ago. Tornados are an oddity in South Texas; they mainly strike in north and east Texas and farther north, so this was quite a news event for San Antonio.

The gulf coast fared far worse, as these photos from an e-mail from an acquaintance show. Damage was much worse than expected, with one wag commenting :If this was a Category 1, then I never want to see a Category 2 or a Category 3!" Fishing and tourism will suffer the most, although major damage seems suprisingly light. The causeway to South Padre Island never closed except at the ehight of the storm, and re-opened immediatley afterwards. While many area of the Rio Grande valley remain without power, almost everyone has either water service or access to fresh water.


There are no reports of the damage to Mexico where the storm has burrowed deep into the Sonorran desert. Much like the old Soviet Union, the current Mexican administration is loathe to describe just how ineffective and powerless it is to provide relief to it's own beleaguered people.


Nevertheless, the people of Mexico continue to suffer from the inactivity of it's own government while America (and Americans) are busily involved in relief operations on both sides of the border.

So, we've been busy. how was your week? Obama been acclaimed king yet?

~~JD~~

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part II); July is also the Wettest Month

Well, Dolly has come ashore, and as I expected, she hit just north of the Texas-Mexico border. She actually struck South Padre Island, then turned north for a bit, sideswiping the island full-force for a few hours before actually coming ashore on Padre Island to the north. Expect some severe damage to the tourist locales of South Padre.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see parts of either island disappear into the sea entirely.

The feeder bands of rain started hitting San Antone about 2pm. Right now it's a solid steel-grey sky with high humidity. The feeder bands are weird experiences to this midwestern-raised farm boy -- not at alllike the great majestic thunderstorms of the plains that lumber through majestically. The feeder bands rumble past, suddenly dropping huge drops of rain that hit with the force of golf balls. The cats and dog ran into the kitchen for shelter from the noise, which lasts all of five minutes, then stops as suddenly as it started.

Then we wait an hour or so for it to start again -- which I think it just did as I'm writing this. In the graphic accompanying this post, that upper-left corner of the tornado watch box is me in San Antonio. Lucky Me.

The storm is breaking down rapidly as it moves inland. Should it follow I-37 north from Corpus, the mass of rain will hit tonight and thoroughly soak our drought-striken pastures.

Which would be good. At any rate the agricultural Rio Grande valley, which rivals Florida and Southern California for it's produce and citrus, will get a ton of much-needed rain.

That's good too.

~~JD~~

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part I); July is the Windiest Month

Hurricane Season 2008 looks to be ramping up fast. Hurricane Dolly is the third "named" storm of the year, and it's only July. (Usually the season doesn't really get going good until August sometime.) So we're already geting the storm warnings and Weather Updates, and bottled water prices are slowly climbing upwards again. We're getting the highway warning signs as well, which are lots of fun to read on the way to work.



As of tonight the projections appear to place Dolly hitting somewhere near the Texas-Mexican border, and most weather-people projecting it will hit just the other side of the border. My guess is that this thing will go to ground on the Texas side of the border as the storm heads more northerly tonight (the winds skew north after sunset and blow north-northwest inland all night. When these inland night winds start blowing tonight, Dolly may well follow.) I'm betting somewhere between Corpus Christi and Victoria (more toward Corpus.)

I noticed on the way home that the usually coludless blue south Texas sky was full of big honkin' cumulonimbus clouds laden with storm water, as the first feeder bands from Dolly agitate the upper atmosphere into action.


Good. We needed the rain.


Meanwhile, Governor Perry has already alerted the National Guard, and every nurse and physician in South Texas has received this e-mail yesterday:

As Tropical Storm Dolly threatens to grow as a Hurricane towards to the Texas border we are encouraging our Nurses and CNA's to call our office and offer your assistance to help others. Additional deployment information will be available within the next 24-48hrs depending on weather.

All Angels will be compensated for their time and efforts at the following rates:

RN's $40/hr
LVN's $30/hr
CNA's $15/hr

Transportation and meals will be provided as well as hotel accommodations. All Angels will be required to bring the following for their personal use:

Sleeping Bag/Pillow
Towel/Soap
Weather appropriate clothing and comfortable footwear
Hat/Cap
Non perishable food/snacks
Drinking Water
Hand Sanitizer
Kleenex
Toilet Tissue
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Medications
Prescribed Eyeglasses/Hearing Aids

Please Contact:

Debbie or Ann Marie
210-616-9526

We truly look forward to helping others, together we can make a difference!

And this follow-up today:

Thank you to all the Angels who have responded in this time of need!

We have been informed that possible Deployment will occur Friday from the AT&T Center in San Antonio. More information will follow as it becomes available.

As Hurricane Season approaches we kindly remind you that even if there is no deloyment this time there may be some in the furture. Please look for updates from Angel Staffing as events occur. Please contact Debbie or Ann Marie at 210-616-9526 in order to be added to our list.

Gotta go buy bottled water . . . . and fill up my gas tank.

~~JD~~

You May Have Noticed I've Been Posting Less Lately . . . .

Well, just a Bit less, anyway . . . .

Welcome to the Nursing Shortage 2008. Here in beautiful South Texas the economy is thriving and the housing market continues to boom. It's no small coincidence that we have one of the lowest tax rates in the country -- hell, no state income tax at all. So jobs are abundant and plentiful. Texas employers are recruiting all through the Katrina impact zone for construction workers for South Texas. Some road work has even been delayed due to a shortage of trained construction workers.

San Antonio alone has a ridiculous number of hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes, and skilled nursing facilities. Just by working Temp Agencies like NursFinders a nurse with a modicum of skills can work until they drop. This week alone I've worked 36 hours at a downtown hospital (night shift); then this morning I turned around and started 3-ten hour shifts at my Dialysis Clinic. Then this Saturday I'll work 2 back-to-back shifts at the Hospital.

To pull off this small trick I have to work two of the days this week around the clock. Like today -- I got off the hospital job working all night, then worked all day at the clinic.

I'll do this again Saturday, in reverse order. So if I only post once a dy instead of three times, you know why.

By the way, if you know a teen-ager looking for a career, recommend Nursing.

Please.

~~JD~~

"Bozo" Larry Harmon Passes Away at 83

Presented with great solemnity, from CNN.com:

Bozo actor dead at 83

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83.
Although not the original Bozo, Larry Harmon portrayed the popular frizzy-haired clown in countless appearances.

His publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press he died at his home.

Although not the original Bozo, Harmon portrayed the popular clown in countless appearances and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of television stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos. "You might say, in a way, I was cloning BTC (Bozo the Clown) before anybody else out there got around to cloning DNA," Harmon told the AP in a 1996 interview.

"Bozo is a combination of the wonderful wisdom of the adult and the childlike ways in all of us," Harmon said.

Pinto Colvig, who also provided the voice for Walt Disney's Goofy, originated Bozo the Clown when Capitol Records introduced a series of children's records in 1946. Harmon would later meet his alter ego while answering a casting call to make personal appearances as a clown to promote the records.

He got that job and eventually bought the rights to Bozo. Along the way, he embellished Bozo's distinctive look: the orange-tufted hair, the bulbous nose, the outlandish red, white and blue costume.

"I felt if I could plant my size 83AAA shoes on this planet, (people) would never be able to forget those footprints," he said.

Susan Harmon, his wife of 29 years, indicated Harmon was the perfect fit for Bozo. "He was the most optimistic man I ever met. He always saw a bright side; he always had something good to say about everybody. He was the love of my life," she said Thursday.

The business -- combining animation, licensing of the character, and personal appearances -- made millions, as Harmon trained more than 200 Bozos over the years to represent him in local markets. "I'm looking for that sparkle in the eyes, that emotion, feeling, directness, warmth. That is so important," he said of his criteria for becoming a Bozo.

The Chicago version of Bozo ran on WGN-TV in Chicago for 40 years and was seen in many other cities after cable television transformed WGN into a superstation. Bozo -- portrayed in Chicago for many years by Bob Bell -- was so popular that the waiting list for tickets to a TV show eventually stretched to a decade, prompting the station to stop taking reservations for 10 years. On the day in 1990 when WGN started taking reservations again, it took just five hours to book the show for five more years. The phone company reported more than 27 million phone call attempts had been made. By the time the show bowed out in Chicago, in 2001, it was the last locally produced version. Harmon said at the time that he hoped to develop a new cable or network show, as well as a Bozo feature film.

He became caught up in a minor controversy in 2004 when the International Clown Hall of Fame in Milwaukee took down a plaque honoring him as Bozo and formally endorsed Colvig for creating the role. Harmon denied ever misrepresenting Bozo's history. He said he was claiming credit only for what he added to the character -- "What I sound like, what I look like, what I walk like" -- and what he did to popularize Bozo. "Isn't it a shame the credit that was given to me for the work I have done, they arbitrarily take it down, like I didn't do anything for the last 52 years," he told the AP at the time.

Harmon protected Bozo's reputation with a vengeance, while embracing those who poked good-natured fun at the clown. As Bozo's influence spread through popular culture, his very name became a synonym for clownish behavior. "It takes a lot of effort and energy to keep a character that old fresh so kids today still know about him and want to buy the products," Karen Raugust, executive editor of The Licensing Letter, a New York-based trade publication, said in 1996. A normal character runs its course in three to five years, Raugust said. "Harmon's is a classic character. It's been around 50 years."

On New Year's Day 1996, Harmon dressed up as Bozo for the first time in 10 years, appearing in the Rose Parade in Pasadena. The crowd reaction, he recalled, "was deafening." "They kept yelling, `Bozo, Bozo, love you, love you.' I shed more crocodile tears for five miles in four hours than I realized I had," he said. "I still get goose bumps."

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Harmon became interested in theater while studying at the University of Southern California. "Bozo is a star, an entertainer, bigger than life," Harmon once said. "People see him as Mr. Bozo, somebody you can relate to, touch and laugh with."

Besides his wife, Harmon is survived by his son, Jeff Harmon, and daughters Lori Harmon, Marci Breth-Carabet and Leslie Breth.

~~JD~~

Happy 4th of July!

I don't know if there's anything more American than Jimmy Cagney tap-dancing to "Yankee Doodle" on the 4th of July.

Very Likely Not.





And here's something else to Cheer your Fourth: A link to the National Republican Committee asking about Why You Are Proud of your Country. Here's mine:

I am proud of my country because we can make mistakes here. And God knows, we've made some Lulu's over the years; but if there's something going on and it's wrong, we have the innate ability to see the wrong, make the change, and come out better for it.

Re-writing the Constitution from the Articles of Confederation. Paying Mexico after we seized the southwest in the Mexican war, even though we didn't have to do so. Repealing slavery, and making freed slaves full citizens with voting rights. The Civil Rights movement. Everything we learned from Vietnam that made Iraq, Afghanistan, Panama, and Grenada so right.

In so many countries around the world "that's the way it's always been done" is a way of life, if not the Status Quo. In America we not only right the wrongs, we go beyond. We see the possibilities, and reach for the stars. No other nation has walked on the moon, or built an international space station that invites other nations to participate freely.

And no other nation forgives our enemies quite like we do. Rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan. A Free South Korea and Japan. The whole Marshall Plan. Mexican reparations in the Gadsden purchase.

For everything "wrong" with America, there's ten things right nobody else in the world would even think of doing.

And here's another link to make you proud of our country if you haven't seen it already: Real American Stories.

Happy Fourth of July, wherever you might be today.

~~JD~~