Making it official

I haven't posted for years, so I'm sure any visitors here know the blog is done. Just wanted to let everyone know, though, that the car crash didn't do me in. I've just been putting my creative efforts into the Grits to Glitz podcast. Catch up with me and Bay at http://www.gritstoglitz.com!

Ouch.

Before:














After:














The lady driving the Ford Taurus in the foreground turned left in front of me. I stood on the brakes, but there was no way to avoid her. Thank goodness, no one was hurt physically. There was a two year old toddler in that Taurus -- thank goodness for car seats!

It's up to the insurance companies now. We'll see what they say.

I know what I have to say: Ouch. I wish that hadn't happened.

Ready for prime time?

If my writing efforts have been slacking off lately, it's because I've been concentrating my efforts in the audio realm. My sister Bay and I have been working on our entry into the growing world of podcasting with Grits to Glitz, our take on life in Tennessee vs. Las Vegas. Bay and I enjoy making each other laugh, and heaven knows we have plenty to talk about. I've spent most of my life in the South, but fate has taken me to Sin City. While I miss the cuisine, the friendly smiles, the mountains, the twisty roads, the cardinals, and so many other features of my southern home, I miss my sister more than any of those. Our podcast is a reflection of the things we talk about anyway -- TV, food, people, traffic, and just the general goings on in our lives.

If you'd like to subscribe via iTunes, check us out here, or if you'd like to see us at Podshow, we're right here. Be sure to listen for our contest in episode two and give us a call!

Embarrassment

So here I sit, happily babbling away about hummingbirds and orioles and wheels on the PT Cruiser. I'm feeling pretty safe in the knowledge that the only people who will ever view my words of wisdom are my sister, maybe some of her friends, and the dozen or so each day who wander in looking for bird gestation periods. (That post is on June 2, for those of you who fall into that category.) I've gotten pretty comfortable around here; if it were an apartment, I'm sure I'd have dirty dishes in the sink.

I check my page statistics pretty regularly, looking to see how people got here. Today, amongst the Google searches for bird information, I found someone who had wandered in from a link on my favorite podcast's web site.

True, I wrote a blog post about The Strip Podcast a few weeks ago. Since I had heard this particular podcaster mention Google Alerts, I was pretty sure he'd find my mention sooner or later. What I didn't anticipate was that my humble blog would be listed on the roster of Friends of the Strip. I'm honored!

I'm also red-faced because that link came along just as I put a "What the heck, I'll show everyone my goofy bulldog dating video" post on the blog. I feel like someone caught me with dirty dishes in the sink.

I've discovered, though, that embarrassment has less power over me as the years go by. So what if people think I'm weird? I am weird, thankyouverymuch, and I'm having a ball being weird. How boring it must be to be normal and dignified and proper.

I have to admit, though, the dog dating video was particularly silly.

No birds in this blog post

Weird, isn't it? Things have slowed down in the backyard birds department, so let's see what else has been going on.

I was in Washington, DC, last week presenting a paper at a conference. It gave me the chance to release a few Where's George dollars in our nation's capitol. The happy result was that I quickly added the District of Columbia to the list of states where my bills have been tracked. Now there's only Delaware standing in the way of my 50 State Bingo.

I just posted a video of Leon the bulldog on YouTube. Let's see if I can link to it here.

This is a video Paul and I made in the summer of 2005 just to try out some new editing software before the 48 Hour Film Project. (Hence the silly transitions.) To be honest, I never really planned to make it publicly available, but I came across it today and thought oh, what the heck. Enjoy!

Orioles in da 'hood

I promised more pictures, and I'm finally able to deliver. These hooded orioles are determined not to be photographed, especially the male. My routine for the past week or so has been as follows. I sit at my breakfast nook overlooking the patio, typing away at my computer and watching the hummingbird feeder. The camera is a few feet away on a tripod, aimed directly at the feeder. At the first glimpse of an oriole, I leap up, dash to the camera, and watch as the oriole flies away.

On a couple of occasions I've been able to sneak to the camera without alerting the female to my presence. I didn't realize until I looked at these pictures that she has a bit of a crossed beak. Poor thing looks a little frazzled, too. I wonder if she's sitting on a nest or feeding babies. I wonder if I'll see juveniles at my feeder. Anyway, note that in this picture the female is demonstrating how an oriole drinks from a feeder that's not designed for an oriole. I was surprised that their beaks would fit into those tiny holes, but maybe it's just their tongue that has to get in there.

I've only been able to get one picture of the male at the feeder. As you can see in the image at the top of this post, the oriole feeder is backlit and difficult to photograph. If he'll keep coming to the hummingbird feeder, though, I'll keep the camera on the tripod in an effort to get a better picture.

What iPods are good for

I got an iPod a few months ago because I was intrigued by the world of podcasts. At that time there was a big brouhaha brewing over some statements Steve Wynn purportedly made about the entertainment choices at competitors' establishments. Wynn made the comments on a podcast called The Strip, so I went in search of the original interview, curious to see whether there was anything to this story. As it turned out, Wynn's comments didn't sound at all judgmental when heard in context. He was simply addressing the business of entertainment on the Las Vegas strip.

What I had stumbled on, though, was the wonderful world of podcasting. I had heard about the phenomenon, but I wasn't an early adopter. I had been aware of iPods for a while -- I first heard about them several years ago when fellow MINI owners were talking about hooking them up to their car stereos. I had always thought of them as fancy Walkmans, though, so I was pretty sure they wouldn't be something I'd be too interested in.

I was wrong.

There are podcasts out there that cover just about any conceivable topic. The Strip, for instance, covers news and entertainment in Las Vegas. The real appeal of this particular podcast is that the two hosts really know their stuff. Miles is a producer at a local TV station, so he gets the inside scoop on the big stories. Steve is a successful freelance journalist, writing for the likes of Newsweek, USA Today, and publications of that ilk. (Nice ilk!) In addition to the aforementioned Steve Wynn interview, they've landed interviews with Dennis Miller, Johnny Mathis, Howie Mandel, Hal Prince, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Franco Dragone -- real legends in the entertainment industry. This ain't no "Hey, we got us a computer, so let's do a podcast" operation. These guys are the real deal.

If you have an iPod and an interest in Las Vegas, I highly recommend The Strip podcast. The latest news to break on the podcast: Andrew Lloyd Webber didn't know that the show opening soon at the Venetian will be Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. Sir Andrew was under the impression that the show would be Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. Just goes to show you, Steve and Miles have a better handle on Las Vegas entertainment than the showmakers themselves!

And if you check it out and like it as much as I do, be sure to vote for them at Podcast Alley. I'm having a blast watching their votes come in this month, catapulting them over lesser podcasts. I love it when the good guys win!