The Pet Shop Girls..... Out of the mouths of.... Parrots!

Conrad is so much like his daddy!

This morning, I heard him yelling, "I love you - and ME!"

Yesterday, I had him in the bathroom, playing on the counter while I took a bath. After several attempts at getting me to come and get him ("Come here! Come here!") he proceeded to pick up everything off the counter (my contact lens case, a hair brush, tooth brush, etc), and threw them - one by one - at me!

Like humans, African Greys do not readily recognize themselves in the mirror, but they can be taught to do so. After Conrad threw everything from the counter at me, he spent the remainder of my bath time doing his version of the "sticking your tongue out at yourself" in the mirror! Like his daddy, he loves mirrors, too - and he KNOWS he is looking at himself.

‎(I failed to mention that after Conrad threw each item from the counter at me, he would duck down.... The normal routine is that when he throws something at me, I pick it up, and throw it back at him. He was preparing himself for retaliation by ducking after he threw it!)

African Grey Parrot

Yellow Naped Amazon Parrot

There was a yellow-naped Amazon parrot at a pet store that I used to frequent in Quincy, IL. Her name was Penny. Because of psoriasis - and I like the way I look - I have been tanned for decades. VERY tan. When I walk by Penny's cage, she would call me the "N" word, then she would quickly duck down in the bottom of the cage, yelling, "You'd better watch that! You'd better watch that!"

Where did she learn this routine? The pet shop owners had to set up hidden cameras, and they caught their evening staff showing Penny pictures of black people, and telling her to call them the "N" word! When she would call somebody that word, they would take a whack at her cage in retaliation, and they would say, "You'd better watch that (who you say that to) !" She learned to duck and hide in the bottom of her cage, and say "You'd better watch that!" after she called a person the derogatory term!

Needless to say, the evening shift was fired and replaced.

HOWEVER.... Once a parrot learns something, you can hope and pray to change it, and with VERY minor success, but for the most part, once it's learned, it is EXTREMELY PERMANENT!

Yellow-naped Amazons are immediately behind African Greys when it comes to their ability to use human speech appropriately.

 There are a couple differences between the 2 species:

1) Amazons enjoy 'mimicry', as well as using the language for a specific reason.  Greys do not particularly enjoy mimicry, although they will occasionally engage in such activity, and get rather bored quickly by that simple game.

2) You will rarely ever see an African Grey parrot in "Bird Shows" on TV, or in amusement parks, for 3 reasons:

a) They do not enjoy mimicry games, which is required for human entertainment in "Bird Shows".

b)  They are NOT happy being perched in one spot for more than a few minutes.  A macaw, Yellow-naped Amazon or Cockatoo can be left on a perch in a public for many hours.  If a Grey is left in such a spot, they will jump off (or climb down!) off that perch in a few short minutes, and they are outta there!

c) It is an unfortunate fact that the even though the African Grey parrot has the highest intelligence of all parrots, they are also the most shy of all the large parrot species, AND they are smart enough to 'not talk when they don't want to do so.'  That can be frustrating to a silly human being who thinks African Greys are little puppets that will do everything at the whim of a beckoning human being!  The Grey will have other ideas.

- Michael

"You can't eat THAT! You're not....Jewish?".

Mark came home from work last evening, and shared with me the conversation that was held around the table as he had lunch earlier in the day.  He mentioned to one of his coworkers that he was craving "Lox & Bagles" (formerly called "New York Lox" at Einstein Bagels, for example).

To the uninitiated, Wikipedia provides a good explanation of 'Lox & Bagels" (I prefer mine on a pumpernickel bagel, but that is just a personal preference.):


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lox


After he mentioned this craving to his coworkers, one gentleman looked at him with an honest, stern look on his face and said, "What?  You can't eat that!  You're not Jewish!"


Personally, I can't resist the urge to sling back a zinger at these people, but Mark doesn't seem to share this weakness with me.


I would have snapped back at the gentleman making the comment any or all of the following:


"You eat Fries, but you're not French!"


"You eat Bacon, but you're not Canadian!"


"You eat that fake Americanized 'Chinese' take-out crap, and you tell yourself it's Chinese, but your last name isn't Chin!"


"Did you know that Baked Alaska can be made and consumed right here in the lower 48 states?  I have an even bigger scoop for you!  Mars Bars are made right here on this planet, and they are consumed by Earthlings!"

__________________

When we went to the Missouri Botanical Garden's Best of Missouri Show and Sale, we got in the door at 8:00 AM - a Garden Member's preview.  I headed straight for the wine tasting booths.  They get crowded the quickest when the General Admission crowd gets through the gates at 9:00 AM.  
Mark said, "What?  You can't drink wine now!  It's only 8:00 AM!"  Both myself, and our friend, Anne, said to him, "The Hell we can't! Stand back and watch!"  Not only did we taste wine at 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning, but we bought 6 bottles, and had them hold the bottles in their booth until we picked them up later in the day.  (We didn't want to carry around heavy packages for several hours before we left the venue.)

The same can be said for eating certain types of food. My food (and drink!) doesn't have a 'clock' on it.  I will have breakfast food at any time of the day or night, and I will have savory food at the same time - any time of the day or night.

(Along the same lines, I don't believe sewing needles, knitting needles, crochet hooks - or nail polish, as far as that goes - has a vagina, so EITHER sex, both male or female, can take full advantage of those items virtues without fearing that they will suffer repercussions or persecution as a result of their use! You are free to roam about the cabin!) 
__________________


I am here today to tell ya:   As long as I live, I will never, ever understand the mental and physical cages and prisons that people have, either willingly or inadvertently, constructed for themselves.  A fact that is even more sad than those self-inflicted limitations and beliefs is the fact that they feel so uncomfortable being around someone who is not bound by these beliefs that they want to make themselves feel better about their predicament by dragging the 'liberated few' into the quagmire with them!


If I could have only one request honored, it would be my plea to those self-entrapped people to either pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and get out of the hole they allowed themselves to crawl into, and join the few of us that enjoy VARIETY in our lives, or simply get the Hell out of my way!  You are cramping my style, and blocking my view!   There are no excuses.  I don't care if "That's how your mother did it!"  or "My father treated me a certain way."  Trust me when I tell you that I am living proof that you - yourself - are capable of forming your own belief system that is entirely independent of "How your were raised."


A quote from Dr. Phil:
"Rise above your raising!"


A quote from Maya Angelo:
"You did what you knew to do.  When you knew better, you did better!"


Both statements are applicable to me - and you.  I did, indeed, "Rise above my raising", and I was given the gift to know that both, way I was raised, and those people's beliefs, were screwed up more than I can ever convey in a simple blog.  Once I became an independent adult, I was bound and determined to change my entire world.  I have done so, and I will continue to do so on a daily basis.  


HOWEVER....   Once again, their efforts will not go down in flames!  If it were not for the existence of people like that, I wouldn't know any difference in my life, and I wouldn't have anything to be thankful for!  On that note:  Prathibah Vasuedevan, the next time you go to (Hindu) Temple, please say a puja for me!


Puja:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puja_(Hinduism)


- Michael

My rack is full, is your field empty?

OK...OK..   I will admit that the title of this blog is a twisted take on the Biblical verse:


"My house is full. my field is empty."


When choosing life's day-to-day experiences, I firmly believe in a full spice rack - the spice of life -  rather than one flavor.


There is an open letter to Dr. Laura Schlessinger that has been floating around the internet for a few years.  I was going to 'copy & paste' the letter here, but it is somewhat bulky, and would override the original intent of this particular blog.   For a clear view of my opinion and perception of the 'Bible situation', please read this memo before continuing with the remainder of this blog:


http://gaybury.blogspot.com/2007/05/should-i-smite-them.html


Personally, I share beliefs with Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Muslim, Jewish, Christian (and a few others!) friends.


Due to technological advances made to means by which we travel (trains.... planes...and automobiles!), and those made to communication devices (telephones... then cell phones, the internet, etc), the size of our planet Earth remains constant, but travel and communication has never been made easier for us.  I know. You are asking, "Where are you going with this fable, Aesop?"  I will answer you:


"The gaps that once separated purist groups of people are now more than ever being rapidly closed."


"In the not-so-distant past, there was a large, unadulterated group of American Indians, for example, on the North American continent.  In the middle east, there was a group of Egyptians in Egypt that was a purity unto themselves, and a little farther east was a group of Romans in Italy that was untainted.  If you continue our quest still farther eastward, you will find Japanese and Chinese blood lines that have been pure for thousands of years."


If we apply no other reason, mode or consideration, our increased capabilities in traveling and communication, alone, will account for the edges of those pure groups to become mingled.


Please do not misunderstand the purpose of this blog.  Tina Turner, Mariah Carey and Eartha Kitt are just a few prominent examples of several races coming together to create an abundance of poise, talent and unparalleled beauty.  (Every one of those ladies have 3 or more races in their blood lines.)


The less obvious combinations would be the very popular combinations of Caucasian genes.  (How many of us are German / Irish, Scottish / Swedish, Italian / Greek, and the possible combinations can continue indefinitely.)


(Fasten your seat belts...we're approaching the runway - we're going to land this jumbo jet!)


My major point is this:


Since many people on this planet have such motley backgrounds, and they live varied lives, why not partake of more of the world around you?  Let's face reality:  There are no Amish people reading this blog.  They won't allow themselves to enjoy ME, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying THEM.  I love their food, and they are excellent craftsman.  Another example would be my Indian (India) friend, Prathibah Vasudevan.  She has lived in the United States of America for 11 years, and the only American food she will eat is from St. Louis Bread Company!  Bad for her - GOOD FOR ME!  I wold go over to her house, and she would cook me the best Indian food I have ever eaten.


While I would encourage people that live untainted, 'purist' lives to OCCASIONALLY venture outside their restrictive bounds, and sample the world around them, I, by no means would be an advocate for them to make permanent changes in their lives.  To do such a thing would most definitely result in a bland, muddled world, and frankly speaking, we already have enough of a bland, muddled world!


Since the remainder of those us us that share this planet (the largest portion of the population - including you!) have no link to a minority lifestyle, to NOT enjoy the sacrifice made by those who DO live minority lifestyles is both a wasteful and lazy action.


Another benefit to peeking into the lives of minority groups is an increased understanding of the people that share this world with us. Not only does it help us to understand and enjoy them, but it also helps us to understand ourselves.


"Peeking" includes sharing their cuisine, their music, their clothing, their customs and beliefs.


"Peeking" does not consist of eating a piss-poor, watered down American version of Chinese or Indian food, for example, but should include food "as they eat it."  To continue with this example, REAL Chinese food is vastly different than the Take-Out American Chinese food.  That isn't Chinese food, people.  REAL Chinese food is very different from American Take-Out Chinese food.  That is the stuff that the Chinese make for sale because they know you will buy it!  I will readily admit that I like Crab Rangoon and Sweet & Sour Chicken, but I also know, on the other hand, that I consider them 'guilty pleasures' and that this is not real Chinese food. Knowing the difference is, well - knowing the difference.


Could you imagine how boring this world would be if everybody was exactly the same?  I don't have to imagine such a thing, because I see it running rampant all around me, and every day of my life.

One quick, easy way to remember to sample the ENTIRE world is:
"I want 'this AND that', rather than 'this OR that'."


I, for one, am extremely thankful that I have the energy, the curiosity, the knowledge and wisdom to view and enjoy the ENTIRE world, rather than just one small corner of it.  I will close with Mark Twain's famous quote:


"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. "


Mark Twain wasn't talking to himself when he wrote that quote.  The unfortunate fact is that the people that need to see and understand that quote will be the same ones that will fail to do so.


- Michael
 

Hank Williams, Jr, Cybil Shepherd, ESPN - and underwear on the head!

Good God! It isn't as if I don't have enough to write about! Then Hank Williams, Jr. gives me more work to do!

OK....OK..... Here goes:

First and foremost, let me state my fundamental beliefs on the subject:

I will defend to my death your right to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a principal foundation that the United States of America is founded upon. I believe that it is your right to say what you want to say, where you want to say it and when you want to speak your mind.

Let's go on a journey to one of my famous segways:

Please consider Cybil Shepherd in the movie, "Martha, Inc".

I am grotesquely over-paraphrasing Martha when she said, referring to Cybil's portrayal of herself in the movie, "You might want to watch what you say about someone who has more money and more power than you do!"

I, for one, didn't need a big red firetruck to hit me head-on to understand what Martha was referring to when she spoke, and why ESPN pulled Hank Williams Jr's intro that they use on the network.

This is the Hank Williams Jr video that caused him to lose his money maker:

If I am forced to admit the truth, I will have to say that, in tthis instance, it is true what "they" say! "A picture is worth 1,000 words!"

I often use videos as a reference to classic lines in sitcoms to make the point that I am attempting to illustrate a bit more clear.

Please evaluate, if you will, the following video. The quote that I am singling out is in the second part of this Designing Women episode, but I will include both links so you can watch the entire episode, if you want to do so.

This episode is entitled "The Engagement", and it's original airdate was March 27, 1989

Part 1:

And part 2:


In this segment, please refer to 06:30 in the following video.  Located immediately below this clip, I have provided a transcript of the section to which I am referring:

The transcript: (the red text is the gold that I am mining here!):


Mary Jo drags Julia to a keg party for moral support as she breaks off with her younger boyfriend, Kenny. As Julia returns from the powder room she runs into Kenny, who has boxer shorts on his head. 


KENNY: Mrs. Sugarbaker! How 'bout you and I going out sometime? I bet I could pick up a thing or two from you.


JULIA: Well, I doubt that, Kenny. But I might be able to offer you one piece of wisdom.


KENNY: Oh yeah? What's that?


JULIA: I believe that you will find as years go by, and you get older and wiser, traversing life's little ups and downs, that underwear probably really doesn't make all that good of a hat. (turning to Mary Jo and speaking loudly to be heard over the music) The powder room isn't really functional now. The keg is in the bathtub and it seems the tap is slow. This is a source of some concern for all the young men in there because they are trying to fill Craig's funnel. Craig, it seems, drinks his beer out of a funnel.


________________________________


Let me circle this Boeing 747 back around and head for the runway - I'm getting ready to land this thing!


Once again: I firmly believe our freedom of speech gives us the right to say whatever crosses our minds.


HOWEVER...... ( Don't you just love 'howevers" ??? )


A sense of couth and decorum should allow for some filtering before after the words leave your mind, but before they leak out of your mouth! There is no such thing as "it just slipped out." Don't ever tell me "it just happened" or "it just slipped out", because I will be the last person alive to believe that statement. We are all responsible for our own behaviors, and there are no accidents.


Please refer back to the "underwear probably really doesn't make all that good of a hat" statement. Even though you CAN wear underwear as a hat, a sense of couth and decorum should dictate that you do not do such a thing. Take that statement on a parallel journey to the mouths of Cybil and Hank. Even though they CAN say such things, a sense of couth and decorum should dictate that they do not say such things - especially to people who have the power to radically change their lives with one swoop.


I say to you, Cybil and Hank: "You might want to take the underwear off your head now. It's not working for you!"


This is the point where a comparison between the spoken word and underwear worn on the head comes to an end. Correcting the "underwear / head" problem is an easy task: You simply remove the underwear from your head, and you hope that there were no viable witnesses present! Recanting the spoken word is much more difficult, however - especially if you are a nationally known public figure, and your statements were recorded on video or other permanent media. In this case, eating your own words might be a formidable challenge, indeed - much like capturing smoke in a bag! "Once it's out, it's out!"


Do not give up the ship! Do not lose all hope! This is a preventative measure, rather than an remedy:


(Quoting Dr. Phil, quoting his father...who was quoting 'Anonymous'):


"Never pass up a good opportunity to keep your mouth SHUT."


My fellow St. Louis native poet Maya Angelo once said:“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
I have always believed that Hank Williams, Jr.'s arrogant sense of self-importance was more than an act. This type of instance is what Maya Angelo was referring to. To paraphrase yet another quote, (either Mark Twain or Abraham Lincoln, depending on who you believe!) said:

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.”

Both quotes - the one attributed to Twain / Lincoln, and the wisdom spoken by Maya Angelo are true and are relevant to to this situation.
Hank Williams, Jr's statement about the President accomplished both tasks:

1) It afforded him the opportunity to show us his true self. (And I believed him!)
2) He opened his mouth, and removed all doubt: He really is a fool!

(I am not going to address the political aspect of this incident. My best friend, "Karma", and her sisters, "the Fates" are excellent house keepers, and they are doing an excellent job of taking care of that business!)




- Michael

Lazy, self-entitled... BIRDS?

Conrad is proof that the lazy, self-entitled epidemic that is sweeping the planet isn't necessarily limited to humans!

I heard, "Come here! Come here!" coming from his cage once too often this morning. I was loading the dishwasher, and without looking in that direction, I replied, "I'll come and get you out in a minute!" He was insistent! "Come here! Come here!"

When I finally looked up from my work, I noticed that he was not staring, but GLARING at the bottom of his cage. He was talking to the peanuts in his snack bowl! Instead of going down to the bottom of the cage to get the peanuts, he was demanding, and expecting the peanuts to come to him! After a few minutes of demanding that those poor peanuts come to him, he got pissed and climbed as quickly as he could down to his snack bowl. UH-OH! Those peanuts were in trouble! He picked up the offending peanuts, one by one, and hurled them through the bars bars of his cage, and onto the floor.

The 'entitlement' thing isn't uncommon to African Grey parrots that know how to express themselves.

I decided to test this theory once more. I got him out of his cage, and after our normal "sitting on the shoulder" routine, I put him on the kitchen counter to play while I finished loading the dishwasher.

He immediately went over to the plate that I had sitting on the counter, and completely dismantled the roast beef sandwich that I was eating, and helped himself to as much of it as he could eat. After he ate what he wanted of the sandwich, I had to cut him off at the pass, and rescue the remainder of the shredded bread before he hurled it off the counter, and onto the kitchen floor. ("I'm finished with it! What further purpose can it serve now?")

The test:
I had a large bag of potato chips on the kitchen counter. Conrad LOVES potato chips, and any other food that isn't 'bird food'.

I know that HE knows that potato chips are in that bag. I opened the bag so that he could see inside, but I intentionally left the chips in the bottom of the bag, clearly out of reach from the open end. He walked across the counter, looked inside the open bag. Without going inside the bag, he stuck his head inside, and called to the chips, "Come Here! Come Here!" He was trying to be patient, and for several minutes, he called to the chips to obey him, and come to him. Throughout my life, I have learned from general experience that chips don't make good listeners! After several minutes of calling to them (and I didn't get them out of the bag for him, either!), he charged inside the dark bag, and one by one, he got chips out, took them to the edge of the kitchen counter, cursing like a 65 yr. old drunk sailor during the entire time,  he hurled the offending chips to the floor.

Alex the Grey (famous parrot) also exhibited 'self-entitlment' behaviors.  Human beings are not unique in their laziness - or their expectations!

This is a refresher course on an African Grey parrot's capabilities.   The only 'beef' that I have with this clip is that Diane Sawyer says that Alex was a "genius among birds."  This is not a true statement. Alex had no more and no less capabilities than any other African Grey parrot.   Alex was selected, quite at random from by the pet shop owner, per Dr. Pepperberg's request, so that any of her own personal preferences would be eliminated.  This bird was chosen for her Avian Language Experiment:

A = Avian
L = Language
EX = Experiment
=============

ALEX !!!! That is how Dr. Pepperberg chose his name.
 

- Michael

Geocaching: A global. digitally-assisted scavenger hunt.

This past weekend,  we attended the Best of Missouri Market and Shaw Art Fair, both held in the vicinity of the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  We went with our friends, Anne Schulte Basler, and her son, Jackson. (He would say that I was mean, and that I was yelling at him for whatever reason if I didn't mention his name!)  :P

(Now, I'm yelling at him!):
Because he is a talented young gardener, and he is sharper than the average bear, I would expect him to take his time and to have a detailed look at the oldest botanical garden in the United States, the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  He was, instead, enthralled by "Geocaching" on a smart phone.  We did have an enjoyable time, and we did locate one cache that was located within the gates of the Botanical Gardens, and there was another one, not far away, in Tower Grove Park (the home of the oldest green house west of the Mississippi River).

Before I delve into this realm, there are some housekeeping duties that we have to attend to.  To catch you up to speed on my general position concerning 'smart phones', please read the following blog first.  It is another of my blog entries:

http://mrtoadslivingoutloud.blogspot.com/2011/03/buying-live-digital-chicken-in.html


Quoting Wikipedia's definiteion:

"Geocaching is an outdoor sporting activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device] and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world.


A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook where the geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their established code name. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (tupperware or similar) or ammunition boxes can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching is often described as a "game of high-tech hide and seek", sharing many aspects with benchmarking, trigpointing, orienteering, treasure-hunting, letterboxing, and waymarking.


Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica..  After 10 years of activity there are over 1,532,000 active geocaches published on various websites. There are over 5 million geocachers worldwide."

For more information, this is a link to the entire article on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching

Geocaching's official website::
http://www.geocaching.com/

___________________________________

We need to get this thing back on track, yet doing so requires another detour.

Mark and I went Las Vegas 7 or 8 years ago.  I really want to go back, and cover the areas that we didn't get to see during our initial short 3 day visit.  We missed the Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York, New York, The Venetian, and the other hotels in that area.  My energy never ran out, but, alas - time waits for no man!

At any rate, our flight from St. Louis to Las Vegas was not direct.  We had to connect through Houston (!!!)  I have since filed this little flight plan under the category of "Things to avoid, if at all possible, in the future!"  Even though we had only 15 minutes between flights, our total flight time was almost doubled to 6 hours.  The airline(s) later apologized for the inconvenience.  Pardon the pun, but as luck would have it, the gate that we arrived at was as far away as possible from the gate that we were to depart from in just a few short minutes after our arrival at the connecting airport.  In a round-about way of apologizing, the airline(s) arranged for a golf-cart sized buggy to pick us up at one gate, and quickly whisk us to our departing flight.

We arrived at Las Vegas' Mc Carran International Airport later in the evening (9:30 PM), and took a shuttle from the airport to the hotel that sponsored our trip, the Rio Hotel and Casino.  (Rio Roses sponsored the trip as a prize that Mark won from his employer in a rose-selling contest they held around Valentine's Day)

As a matter of coincidence, the Rio Casino and Hotel has the largest Buffet in Last Vegas!  I am a true Foodie!

Anywho....back to the trip from the airport to our hotel.

We were on the shuttle back, and honestly - as "luck" would have it - our hotel / casino was the last stop for this shuttle.  In other words, we had to go past every other casino on the strip. As anyone can attest, the hotels are quite a site by day, and are absolutely stunning when lit at night.   This long round-about trip to our hotel gave us a fantastic sight-seeing opportunity, and at least from the outside, we got a glimpse of every hotel on the strip.

I did NOT have my camera with me, and even though I am a 'slightly' better-than-average photographer, unless I have ample time at my destination, I will not take my camera with me to such destinations.  You ask, "Why not?"

The memory that you are making is only that of you looking through a camera lens because you were too busy looking through that lens to actually enjoy the pure, unadulterated scenery.

Through this medium (a blog), I cannot possibly portray to you the number of people that I see - on a regular basis - "missing the moment" because they are not living in the moment.  They are too busy taking pictures of their children standing in front of some tourist trap, or they are too busy taking pictures of the tourist trap, itself, to live in the here-and-now.   In essence, they have missed the entire reason they are there!  If you go to a beautiful place in this world only to take pictures, and you never bother to enjoy the beauty, yourself, then why not save yourself the time and money, and stay home and look at pictures that other people might have taken, and perhaps, those photographers have done a better job?

Back to the shuttle bus:
While I will do everything in my power to avoid losing absolute control of myself (and to avoid looking like a damned tourist!) I do like to see it all! I want to see BOTH, the tourist traps, and the places where the work-a-day man lives, eats, and seeks entertainment.  There is more to life than tourist traps, and in most instances, the places that people live everyday lives is infinitely more interesting than the tourist traps.

Remember:  This was 7 - 8 yrs. ago, and I was so bothered by this scene that it could have been yesterday or 25 years ago. I will never forget it!

While we were on the shuttle, going by the hotels, I did happen to glance across the isle of the shuttle bus.  I noticed a gentleman with a small video recorder in his palm, and his eye was tightly glued to the eye piece of the thing.  He wasn't missing one second of filming his trip down the Las Vegas strip.  HOWEVER....not for one second did his eye leave that lens. Not one second. In essence, and in all actuality, he missed the entire trip!  Even for a fraction of any second of that shuttle trip, that man never saw one actual glimpse of the beautiful Las Vegas Strip!  He was too busy recording that video, and missed the entire 'show'!

I looked at Mark, and I said right out loud, and in front of God and everybody present: "God, I hope this is not his first and only trip down the magnificent Las Vegas Strip.  If I EVER do that (miss the entire 'show' !), as a result of my own stupid actions, I miss the awe and beauty, please shoot me and shoot me quickly!"

Geocaching is fun, and actually encourages people to 'get off the couch'.  In the words of Martha Stewart, "That is a 'good thing'.

I will not, however, 'miss the entire show' to do such a thing, and I would recommend you to do the same.  The next time, I would strongly encourage you, young Jack, to do BOTH: Geocaching and enjoy the entire Missouri Botanical Garden without being distracted.

I will not do such a thing, however, until the price of chickens in Guadalajara is greatly reduced!

- Michael

My little adventure to The Best of Missouri Market and Shaw Art Show

Today, we attended the last major fall events that we frequent on an annual basis.  We went to the Best of Missouri Market at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and the Shaw Art Fair right across the street.  

To reduce the crowded conditions at the Best of Missouri Market, they extended this event to Friday night, for a "Sneak Preview"

This event is held in 4 huge tents in the Botanical Garden's parking lot, and has extended into the Garden, itself.  In order for an item to be advertised and sold in this market, it must be manufactured in Missouri. 

We sampled everything from a choice of several wines to salsas, dips, and goat cheeses - and Braunschweiger.  Yes, Braunschweiger!  Anybody that knows me well will know that I have hated Braunschweiger all my life.  It's "gaumy" texture and sharp taste would turn my stomach, and as a child, I would much rather go hungry than eat the stuff - and I often chose the "go hungry" route, rather than to choke the stuff down! I mean... C'mon! The texture of the Braunschweiger that is sold in grocery stores is atrocious!

However...   I found the Williams Brothers Meat Market's booth at the Best of Missouri Market.  They were selling Braunschweiger, as well as many other sausages and meats.  When most people have an aversion to a food or a certain taste or texture, there is no way in Hell that they are going to be convinced to try that food.  
 
This is the e-mail that I just sent Williams Brothers Meat Market:

"I am a 43 yr. old man, and before I found your booth at the Best of Missouri Market, I hated braunschweiger to the point that as a child, if that was my only choice offered for lunch, I would choose the "go hungry" option!

There aren't many flavors or particular foods that I don't like to the point where I will out-right refuse the food. I like to think that I am a much more adventuresome person than to have such a narrow mind.  Every so often, I will have another try at it a food or flavor that I may have originally found to be offensive.   I will taste the offending food once again to see if my perception of taste has changed.  I will gladly announce that, based on it's taste and texture, your braunschweiger is the only braunschweiger that I will ever eat in my life! 

Thank you!  "

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We also looked at the merchandise produced by jewelers, carpenters and furniture builders, wools and yarns from weavers and knitters, soap makers, and restaurants such as The Blue Owl in Kimmswick, MO.  

The Blue Owl's web site:
http://www.theblueowl.com/

The Blue Owl was featured on Food Network for the Level High Apple Pie several years ago.    For several weeks after this segment was run on Food Network, there was a 2 hour waiting list to get into the Blue Owl restaurant.   We ate at the restaurant about 3 years ago.  Today, we bought "personal size" Pecan Butterscotch Pies:

We also bought 4 bottles of wine and a few pieces of Divinity fudge.

Two of the bottles of wine are from the Stone Hill Winery.  These are from the "Jacquesse" wine family.  We bought the Jacquesse Kickin' Berry and the Jacquesse Kickin' Red wines.

From the St. James Winery, we bought 2 bottles of the 2006 Vignoles (Ozark Mountain Sweet Wine).  The grapes used in making this wine we left on the vine until they were 'almost raisins', producint a much sweeter, concentrated flavor.  They were running a special on this wine.  $5 for a 5 yr. old wine isn't a bad price!

Additional info on this wine:
http://www.stjameswinery.com/pdf/2006_late_harvest_vignoles_flyer.pdf

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I also taste tested Deadly Dick's Peppers - hot peppers, and in particular, the XXX Pretzels.

They were **HOT**, but considering that I went back to the booth 4 times, I loved those hot pretzels.

For more info:
http://www.deadlydickspeppers.com/

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There were several fiber artists, featuring their alpaca and llama wools and spun yarns, including 'Alpacas d'Auxvasse".

http://www.alpacasauxvasse.com/

I am a knitter, and the art of turning a natural plant or animal fiber into a yarn, then into a wonderful, beautiful garment or article of clothing has always fascinated me.  The fiber arts are *not* genetically sex-linked, and can be accomplished by either sex, male or female.   Several weavers were in attendance.   Even though weaving is a 'fiber art', it is in a category all of it's own, and the only bind between weaving and knitting is that they both use fibers (yarns, threads, etc).   I would love to learn to weave, but the time and money that I have devoted to my other "ten thousand hobbies" does not allow time, space, or funds for one more hobby!

To date, these are the things that I do on a daily basis:
1) Play piano / organ for 2 - 4 hours.
2) Do an abdominal exercise routine that takes 30 - 45 minutes.
3) Clean house for 4 - 5 hours a day.
4) Care for Conrad, my African Grey parrot, and our 4 dogs.
5) Try to squeeze in time for computer rendering / digital object modeling (1.5 - 2 hrs. a day)
6) Watch Prime Time television with Mark, while knitting from 7:00 - 9:30 PM

Concerning weaving (and getting a new hobby!), and quoting Martha Stewart:
"All I need is one more damned hobby!"  he he he

So - I am going to have to learn to do MORE hobbies vicariously - through watching and appreciating the efforts of others!
In addition to the Best of Missouri Market and Show, we also went to the Shaw Art Fair that is held across the street,  Through years of attending the local art shows, I have grown to know many of the artists on a personal level.

Bruce Holwerda is an artist that is an artist that shows almost every year in the St. Louis art shows (even though he is not from the St. Louis area). I love his work:

For more of his work:
http://store.bruceholwerda.com/

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Not considering the fact that we went to Bob Cassilly's (the creator of 'City Museum') memorial service yesterday, we had a great weekend.  

In many ways, Bob was a champion and a shining example in my life.  He was a genius in many realms.  There was two things, however, that he did not know:
1) The word "NO!"
2) The need for a building permit!

This one is a particularly bitter pill to swallow.    I am going to need a lot more time to choke this one down.   In the mean time, please try to be understanding and accommodating, and please excuse me if I get snappy at those who are less talented, less creative, less energetic, have no drive, those that are lazy, filled with piss-poor excuses, and those who do nothing to enrich the world around us!

I love ya'll dearly!

- Michael

- Michael