ARIZONA YANK

Should Obama pardon O.J. Simpson?

2010-05-31T07:42:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about this possibility for the last few days now, and I've come to the conclusion that he might be considering it.

Now that the "Annointed One" has learned, as a result of his two recent trips to Louisiana, that he really can't part the waters. And, he has learned from the Sestak episode that known perjurers can be useful when you are trying to lie your way out of a politically embarassing situation. So, might he be thinking that a pardon of Simpson, in return for Simpson agreeing to move to Wasilla, Alaska, might just improve his chances of re-election.

Hey, we're getting another Gringo!!

2010-05-25T07:52:00.001-07:00

Hey, we're getting another Gringo!!
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Yep, I know I'm getting a bit silly here, but I truly am looking forward to the next Mexican league season now. With Herculez AND "Gringo" Torres on the same team Pachuca should at least be the most entertaining team in Mexico. And, with a bit of luck they could pick up a couple of trinkets along the way for their trophy cabinets, one in South Africa, and one in Tokyo.

Whats the hurry?

2010-05-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

I suspect, that if Obama would only extend the search for a SCOTUS nominee a couple more weeks, he could still manage to find a Jewish, Lesbian with Goldman Sachs connections who was also Black. And, I really think, he should be thinking along these lines, just in case he doesn't get another opportunity. In addition, should there be a next time he should bear in mind that finding an Asian, Trans-Gender, Pedophile who's been to law school could take up even more of his valuable time farther down the road and possibly interfere with his re-election effort.

Carvin Jones (gimpified)

2010-04-21T06:46:00.001-07:00

Carvin Jones (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

This shot is from a trip to Glendale last Sunday for the 27th annual Glendale Jazz & Blues Festival. Carvin, though born in Texas was raised here in the Phoenix area and has been called "the new Hendrix". For myself, its good enough that he can for a few moments at least, make you forget that you have once upon a time seen and heard Stevie Ray Vaughn and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Texas blues is alive and kicking!!!

Cufasepe: a new word is proposed.

2010-04-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

I would like to make a modest suggestion for improving the English language in advance of our forthcoming national debate on whether or not a Lesbian should be nominated to a position on the Supreme Court of the United States.

In recent years, the acronym GLBTG (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans-Gender) has been put forward (or Out--if that is your preference) as a useful term to describe what I myself have always preferred to call "currently fashionable sexual perversions". The new word "cufasepe" is simply a useful contraction of what I think is the much more useful phrase, that I myself have always used.

Now, I think, that any lover of language should immediately recognize the inherent clumsiness of GLBTG and the possible contractions that could be derived from it, such as--Galebitrge, Glubtug, Glibtig, etc. Somehow, none of them quite work. And, of course, the current term doesn't take into account the probable future inclusion of other varieties of sexual perversion as they enter the pantheon of the fashionable and acceptable.

Cufasepe, on the other hand, could be immediately useful when and if the PETA folks gain such influence and credibility that cow-love, goat-love, turkey-love*, etc. become fashionable beyond Hollywood, California. And, indeed, all known varieties man-boy love, fence post-love, inflatable-doll love, baby-love, Rosie O'Donnell-love, seem to be on a path to achieve some degree of fashion and acceptability in the foreseeable future. So, why not take all of this into account and begin using my new word immediately.

Of course, it goes without saying, that if you are nice enough to use my new word and wish to thank me in some small way for my contribution all you need do is click on my adsense ads or buy something from Amazon via my humble little blog.

Thank you in advance.

*Please, see my earlier blogs on Thomas Granger.

Lucid Lynx (gimpified)

2010-03-31T11:38:00.001-07:00

Lucid Lynx (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

This is a sure sign that April is approaching and we can look forward to the latest version of Ubuntu. I've been running the Beta 1 version for a bit now, and like many others, I'm not sure yet about the new colors, but in this effort at least, combining the old with the new works out pretty well IMHO. The original is from momez on gnome-look.org.

Rhino Head (gimpified)

2010-03-25T08:18:00.001-07:00

Rhino Head (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Another shot from our trip to the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium down in Litchfield Park a couple of weeks ago.

Where's my Purdey?

2010-03-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

The news is that our good buddies in the US Congress have decided that ownership of a health insurance policy is a right not a privilege.

Well, since the Supreme Court has previously decided (along with the folks who wrote the US Constitution) that gun ownership is also a right and not a privilege, then it must surely follow that the Congress will soon make my ownership of a gun mandatory. This being the case then, and since I don't happen to be able to afford a gun, I can now look forward to a Federal subsidy to provide me with my Federally approved gun? And, if I must own a gun, can I insist that my government subsidy buy me a Purdey shotgun?

I don't know a whole lot about guns--I'm afraid the only gun I ever owned was a BB-gun--but that was over 50 years ago. I do think though, that an antique Purdey (say from about 1860) would look like nice hanging over my front door, and that would give me something to show my local IRS agent every month.

Obamacare--a new symbol!

2010-03-22T07:47:00.001-07:00

Obamacare--a new symbol!
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

I did not realize it a few weeks ago when I visited the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium down in Litchfield Park, but I seem to have captured the perfect image for America's most recent step towards authoritarian government. Barring intervention by the Judiciary Branch (which, I still think is highly probable), we are all merely months away from being monkeys in a cage, looking somewhat askance at the card carrying IRS agents hovering outside our homes making sure we are all healthy and or insured.

A Christmas card from Tux (gimpified)

2009-12-17T08:20:00.001-08:00

A Christmas card from Tux (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

A greeting card portraying the favorite penguin of all us Linux geeks around the world. He looks a bit sad at the moment, because he's learned that his buddies at Ubuntu have decided to dump his other buddie "The Gimp".

Should Caligula be Time's Man of the Year?

2009-12-16T06:48:00.000-08:00

Now that we are in the midst of our annual award season mania, and while we await Time Magazine's annual "award" to a "Man(or Person) of the Year", I have come up with what I think is another of my very helpful (but thus far under appreciated) suggestions to make the world a better place.

Since, so many of the other awards this year, have been strange and at times downright bizarre--isn't it time that we show some recognition to the fellow who started it all way back in the first century, by awarding his favorite horse Incitatus a seat in the Roman Senate?

After all, we started the year with Roland Burris being awarded a U.S Senate seat (under somewhat curious circumstances). And, we went from there to the (again, very curious) awarding of a Noble Peace Prize to another under qualified politician from Illinois. And, this has now been followed by Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year" being awarded to Derek Jeter (this, in a year when even Drew Carey was better qualified for the award).

So, I think it might be Caligula's time?

Or, on second thought, perhaps they should give it to Nancy Pelosi for stuffing all that pork into the mouths of all those salt marsh harvest mice?

The Gate (gimpified)

2009-11-28T06:40:00.001-08:00

The Gate (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Yet another gimpified (using mainly the Cartoon filter) picture making use of some of the arhitectural details in the homes here in Sun Village

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Be thankful for yellow roses too.

2009-11-27T06:16:00.001-08:00

Be thankful for yellow roses too.
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Alternative Title: "Black Friday" Rose!

This rose is just across the little pond which fronts my condo unit.
It a straight photo, with just a wee bit of "gimping" to sharpen it.

Thanks for White Roses (gimpified)

2009-11-26T06:26:00.001-08:00

Thanks for White Roses (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

And a Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!

A Peripatetic Pochard (gimpified)

2009-11-25T06:12:00.001-08:00

A Peripatetic Pochard (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

The third red-crested pochard spotted on "Surprise Lake".

This one appears to have "gone native" with his Indian head band, he doesn't appear to require the additional feather sticking up out of the headband though.

My title for this one, represents my own humble suggestion to the good folks at Ubuntu as a code name for Ubuntu version 12.04. The Ubuntu colors are already in place, and like Ubuntu the pochards can show up in the most unexpected places.

RED-CRESTED POCHARD !!!

2009-11-24T08:27:00.001-08:00

RED-CRESTED POCHARD !!!
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

I've "discovered" who these avian visitors are. They are Red-Crested Pochards (Netta Rufina), who are native to Southern Europe who have gone dramatically astray or, more likely they are escapees from one of our local zoos.

I might have over reacted a bit to my "discovery", to the extent of actually trying to telephone the local Audubon Society to report my finding. But, eventually, I found similar shots of these guys on Flickr.com from Arizona locations, so that I now suspect that they aren't visitors from southern Europe, but were probably born somewhere in the Southwest US.

I'm some kind of ducky (gimpified)

2009-11-23T14:05:00.001-08:00

I'm some kind of ducky (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

This morning I took a photo jaunt/library vist, and this guy with a couple of his buddies were breakfasting on the goodies at the bottom of our little lake. I haven't been able to identify the variety of duck as yet, but I did manage to make it look as much like a duck stamp as I could.

Canadian Goose (gimpified)

2009-11-22T07:50:00.001-08:00

Canadian Goose (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

This is a head shot of one of the Canadian geese who hang around the Village. The patterns here almost suggest that the shot really belongs with my Auto Art series of a couple of weeks ago. There's even what appears to be a bit of pin-striping in the white portion of the head.

At any rate, I'm glad I've finally gotten around to attempting (in my small way) to make this guy famous, something I promised him I'd do if he would just sit still for a moment, which probably accounts for the somewhat skeptical look on his beak.

"Where's Miss Porkulus? I need a new paint job!"

2009-11-20T06:29:00.001-08:00

Where's Miss Porkulous? I need a new paint job!
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Probably the most famous rock in Arizona, but it seems to need a new paint job.

So, where the hell is Miss Porkulus when you need her--there's a job to be saved somewhere on the outskirts of Congress, Arizona.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Watson Lake Cartoon (gimpified)

2009-11-19T07:27:00.001-08:00

Watson Lake Cartoon (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

I'm still mucking about in some of my old material. In this case, it's a view from Watson Lake Park northeast of Prescott, AZ from a trip we took to the lakes around Prescott about a year and a half ago. Again, I've used the new toys found in the G'MIC toolkit for The Gimp.

It's turned out pretty well, I think. I just wish I could have come up with a more clever title for it.

Surprised by the Paparazzi in Surprise!

2009-11-18T07:26:00.001-08:00

Surprised (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

This picture was taken over a year ago during one of my combination photo jaunts/library trips. This female grackle, along with several members of her flock were carousing on the beach of the small man-made lake to the East of the Northwest Branch of the Maricopa County Library here in Surprise.

This is another use of the G'MIC Cartoon filter in The Gimp. It seems to give a more "painterly" look than the usual Gimp filter.

Sun Village 'scape (gimpified)

2009-11-17T05:40:00.001-08:00

Sun Village 'scape (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

This might just turn out to be my personal all-time favorite of all the landscapes I've attempted on my numerous photo jaunts around Sun Village. The sign is relatively new and adorns the main (public) entrance to the Village. It's also part of the 13th hole of the par-3 golf course which works its way through Sun Village.

Calendula's coming and going in Sun Village.

2009-11-17T05:31:00.001-08:00

Orange Gazania (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

This is the G'MIC toolkit (in The Gimp) at work again.

I like the compositional elements of this (triangles within triangles, etc.) more than the colors.

Beep! Beep! (gimpified)

2009-11-16T11:53:00.001-08:00

Beep! Beep! (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

I've lived in Arizona now for two and a half years, taken hundreds of photos, and this is the first one I've managed to take of a roadrunner.

Of course, I know that this one isn't a REAL roadrunner--really I do--but since he's the best I've been able to come up with so far I'll send it out into cyberspace with the hope, that the people out there in cyberspace will like it, and even more, I hope some real roadrunners will be attracted to it and start running around Sun Village when I happen to be out and about with my camera.

A techie note: this was the first time I've played around with the "coffee spill" trick, found in The Gimp under Filters>Decor. Any possible connection between coffee spills and roadrunners is purely speculation on my part of course.

Dwight is seeing brown again! (gimpified)

2009-11-16T05:44:00.001-08:00

Dwight is seeing brown again! (gimpified)
Originally uploaded by h_dwight_beers

Another little composition featuring one of the house decorations from down the street here in Sun Village. It's mainly the composition and not the textures that I like about this one.

I seem to have reverted to my "brown period" again. I wonder what would have happened if I'd carried a can of paint around with me on my little photo jaunt yesterday?