King Cat arrives

Though people have heard me talk about a cat that we have for many years named “Juliet”,  very few people have ever seen this seemly fictitious cat unless you count the flashes of grey that streak through the house when any guest arrives.  Juliet has been in my wife’s life longer than I have.  So when we got married,  the cat was part of the package.  

My expectation of a “lap kitty” was quickly smashed when I met Juliet.   Jackie and I and a very few other people are lucky to have the opportunity to ever even see let alone pet this animal.  Most the time, the only evidence that people have seen of our wonderful cat is a soiled litter box  and half eaten cat food and half drank water bowl. 

The only times over the years that I ever picked up this cat was to force her into the cat box when we were moving.  Keep in mind, that we had to corner her in a empty house/apartment usually in a bathroom or kitchen cabinet and be ever so careful not to let her get her claws embedded into our skin in order to accomplish this task.  The trick is to grab her very snuggly and quickly on her body in between her front and back legs before she is able to squirm free.  At the same time,  your lovely spouse has to have the cat box close and open with the door facing skyward.  You then force this cat in the opening as it kicks, screeches, and attempts to scratch its way to freedom.  You must have a strong will and some strength to overcome her back paws that spread their way across the cat door opening in an effort to spring to freedom.

My children have known this cat all their lives.   They have tried various methods to sneak up and pet this cat.  Much to their dismay, they have have not ever achieved any affection from the cat for their efforts.  For the most part, the cat remains like for most of our other guests a “grey streak” or a cat that lays teasingly across the room just begging you for a futile attempt to grab her affection. 

In our house, we have a white German Sheppard named “Phantom”, a hamster named “Nibbles”, a beta fish, and several fish in a twenty gallon tank.  These other pets do help somewhat overcome the need for our children to have a friendly cat.   Over the years,  I have continued my stance that we will not get another cat until our original cat passes on.  I did not want to have another cat food money pit that does not show anything in return to the family (except for Jackie of course).

Over Christmas,  Sophia asked Santa for new cat. This type of request was something that I have heard many times in the past.  I stood strong on my stance.

Shortly after Christmas,  a stray cat started coming around our new home.   The cat appeared to know that he had to get past me in order for him to be adopted into the Jackle family.   It seemed that every time that I stepped outside the home, I was saw this cat.  Eventually, he developed the nerve to rub his body against my legs showing his affection.  

Next, I decided to leave some food outside so this cat would have something to eat and drink.  I also placed a used and empty moving box outside to protect the cat against our sub-freezing weather.  The bond between a man in his cat was born.  Finally, I allowed this cat into our home.  Call me a hypocrite!!!  Soon this cat was un-officially adopted and Sophia had her wish.  The cat typically hangs out in our upstairs attic where my studio resides.  Often he can be found in my lap when I am working on the photos for my blog and clients.  I have become the cat’s favorite Jackle.  Ssh!!! Do not tell Sophia. 

My wife still laughs at me when she sees this new cat on my lap while I am watching television.  Who would have ever imagined that I would have a new cat best friend?

Well, here are some shots of my new buddy.  

I call this the “King Cat strut.”

A bush is a cat’s best friend when they need a quick scratching post.

Nothing like basking in the sun with a front porch post as pillow!! Man, this is heaven!!

 

Ok dad !  I am posing already!!! Take the shot!!!

 

Hmm!!! Tasty!!

The full set of pictures can be found here. 

Till next time….. 

Love Affair – Amy Hancock

 

I remember in the 1980s when MTV first came out and I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.  I was finally able to see more and more live footage of the bands that I loved at the time.  Television channels like MTV definitely changed the music business forever. 

The evolution (though starting with good intentions) forced the recording artist to become more and more focused on their videos and their image than ever before. Each of us can probably  name several groups that hit the big time though ever so briefly using their video and image and not their music as their success tool.  We then ask ourselves what ever happened to “_______”?   The artists and groups that remain relevant today have used their musical talents to overcome the “flash in the pan” syndrome that strikes so many of these one hit wonders down. 

Yes, it is true, the video/image is still a factor in prolonging their success but it is the music that stands the test of time. 

Recently, I spoke to a good friend at work who was telling me a story about how he and his son where watching the television show called “CrossRoads”.  This particular episode teamed  a long haired aged male  singer with the modern country/folk powerhouse Alison Krauss. This duet performed some live folk/bluegrass music.  My friend’s college age son came in from the kitchen totally blown away by the singing of this male crooner.  Eyes glued to the screen, he asked his father who is the awesome singer?  The reply was simply “Robert Plant.” 

In the recent Grammy awards, Plant and Krauss accepted best contemporary folk/Americana album and best overall album(beating out other contemporary groups like Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Ne-Yo, and Radiohead).  They won 5 Grammy awards  in total.   This is an example of an artist that has survived the test of time based on his incredible vocal talent.  Robert Plant began his evolution in the late 1960s as front man for a little group called “Led Zeppelin.”  I am sure that my friend’s son has dug into his dad’s music archives to hear more of this voice.   

Now, we are living in the age of reality shows like “American Idol” which supposedly is a true singing contest. The contest crowns an obscure and mostly un-discovered talent an “American Idol.”  Are they crowned strictly on their music talent alone?   The answer would be a resounding “No.”  That would not attract enough attention for the show’s producers to get the advertising dollars or to sell the albums they desire.   It is about image and the “rags to riches”  story of the contestants and any other controversial story that can be exploited and/or dreamed up as much as it is about the music.  How many times have you heard Simon Cowell refer to a contestant as “commercial”  or state that their look is  a “mess”? 

Just take a look at this year’s contestant Tatiana for example.  Do you think she really has better vocal talent than others have been eliminated in this contest so far ?  No, but she definitely is controversial.  I think she is most self-absorbed contestant I have seen in the history of the American Idol.  The producers are definitely milking this angle to its fullest degree though at the expense of another contestant’s talent.  Controversy sells ads and keeps the American public watching the show.  The show is generally more about selling than singing.  I must hand it to the producers in that they still keep enough talent in the show to create artists like Carrie Underwood.  In the end, the producers create a musical product that has all the pieces in place for success in this modern music era.

Recently, I was encouraged to join www.facebook.com to connect with my old friends.   It has re-connected me with two old friends  Robert and Amy Hancock.  I graduated from Northern Nash Senior High just outside of Rock Mount , NC.   In high school,  Amy walked a little on the wild side as she worked to find herself.  

My biggest recollection of her was her incredible vocal talent.  She would blow you away with just one note.  Since then at a 20 year high school reunion(a few years back),  she was married to another good high school friend named Robert Hancock and had definitely found her way.  You could feel the love in the room with this pair.  

I decided to check out a link to Amy’s music that I found on Robert’s facebook page.  I was so refreshed to hear true musical talent again.  The recordings were done from an 2006  live show with her and a piano player.   There is no  re-takes, over-dubs or sampling in this music.  It is just a talented singer and a piano player. How basic and true to musical form can you get ?  I strongly encourage you to check out  www.amyhancock.net  and her music samples.   Her album “Love Affair- Amy Hancock” can be purchased on CD Baby.  Apparently, I am not the only one that is impressed with her music.   She will be appearing in the 2009  New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival in May.   You go girl!!!  Knock their socks off!!!  I say this as I am sitting here bare foot listening to your tracks and trying to get some work done.

The Homework Bush Fort

Lately, since we have been experiencing some 70 degree weather, we have been taking some family walks, and playing outside whenever possible.  Others across the country do not have the luxury of  this type of weather especially at this time of the year. 

In my last post , I showed you pictures of my two year Savannah taking her first drive in her older sister’s Cinderella Pontiac Sunfire. Typically, it  is Sophia that is driving and Savannah that is her sole passenger.

What was Sophia up to at the time?  She was in a bush.  What do you mean in a bush?

Well, in our new neighborhood circle, we have some great neighbors. My neighbor Steve has a 10 year daughter named Bridgette. Hopefully, I spelled her name correctly. Sorry if I didn’t.  Bridgette has been a great new friend to my younger almost 7 year old Sophia.  Among other things, they share a passion for nature. 

If I had a dollar for every rock and/or plant we took out of Sophie’s pants pockets while doing laundry over the last few years, we would have this new house half paid off already. Do not get me started on various critters she has shown us. We will save that for another time.

Another one of  her other favorite things is building forts.  Give this kid a cardboard box, and she will go to town. We might have a few of those around the house especially with our recent move.  She also likes the blanket over chairs fort building technique.

In the front yard of our home, we have a huge bush. I am not really sure what type of bush it is, but I do know that is big enough for two or more kids and possibly a few adults, dogs cats, monkeys, birds, and squirrels to play inside it.  I think it  could possibly cover my Subaru Forester.   So love of nature + love of forts = “bush fort”.   Bridgette and Sophia were playing in the “bush fort” while I was watching Savannah speed around in the Sunfire last Sunday. 

Sophia has been talking about  it non-stop for the last week. 

Sophia fully understands that playtime must occur after her homework is complete.  Now, she is pushing us to let her do her homework on Monday-Wednesday-Friday after school inside this bush.  She re-assures us that there is enough light coming into the bush to allow her to see her homework.   We asked her why just Monday-Wednesday-Friday in the bush and not every weekday ?  She said  “Bridgette is only available Monday –Wednesday –Friday and the plan is that we both do our homework in the bush before playing.” 

Well, here is my photo for the day of Bridgette and Sophia in our new “homework bush fort.”

If you know what type of bush this is, I am definitely interesting in hearing your comments below. Right now, it is a just a “homework bush fort.”

The Keys

<Imagine for a minute the “Cats in the Cradle” playing in the background and then read the following for the full effect. >

Well, she came home from the circus just the other day
So much like a lady I just had to say
"Nanna , I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
She shook her head and said with a smile

"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys ………

 

See you later, can I have them please?"
-Words adapted/inspired  from Harry Chapin’s song the “Cat’s in the Cradle.”

Pinewood Derby 2009 – Part 2 – Select cars

Originally,  I provided a few pictures from the recent race in this previous post.  

In between races, I had a quick opportunity to grab a few pictures from the registered cars table. The cars are held here after they are registered by the participants, and remain here(under armed guard – and legged too)  until the participant's runs begin.   The theme of this year’s derby was “animals.”  

Here are some of my favorite cars:

My trianglephotoprints.com “Pinewood Derby 2009” gallery contains all the images from last Saturday. 
If you are part of the troop, the password hint will help you gain access to the pictures. 
If you have any issues accessing the gallery, please let me know.

Pinewood Derby 2009

This past Saturday, we headed to Sophia’s Girl Scout Pinewood Derby.  This is one of the few father-daughter outings this year.  It was great working with Sophia on her car.  Sophia did not have the advantage of a father who is a mechanical engineer to help design her car like I did when I was growing up.  I really appreciate the assistance my sister-in-law Lori Lipkin provided with cutting the car on her scroll saw and her other car creation advice.  Those Lipkins can do just about anything and Lori is no exception.

Each of the girls raced at least 4 times. Each time the car was placed on a different lane on the track. This was designed to eliminate any advantage of a particular lane on the track.  Sophia finished first place in one of her four races.  Here are shots of her setting the winning run and her expression when she was winning.

Due to the way the day was planned, we were required to register our cars early in the morning at approximately 9:00 AM.  The actual runs were later in a day at about 1:30 PM.   This made for a long  day.  I am glad that my two-year old Savannah held up.   The good news is that we spent the entire Saturday  together without the distractions of  the television. 

Here is a shot of Sophia taking a break near the end of the long day.

If you are looking for Pinewood Derby excitement, look no further than the troops own Zoe.

 

No father-daughter event would be complete without showing a father-daughter team like this one:

Now for the Girls!!!

This next shot reminds me of a story.  “Once I was at Girl Scout Pinewood Derby expecting to see some races… There was this little angel supporting her older sister that was participating in the race.. She probably didn’t know she was providing this support.  Along came this photog to snap this dreamy baby portrait.”

 

If you are associated with the girl scout troop and would like to see more Pinewood Derby images,  check them out on my www.trianglephotoprints.com gallery.  Use the password hint to determine the galleries password.  You can view, download and/or purchase images directly on my web site.  If you have any issues accessing the gallery, please  let me know.

 

Till next time, see ya soon!!!!

Gene Spolar finally gets a chance

 

Photo Credit: Scott Anderson – Racine Journal Times

As I pointed out in my previous posts, I grew up in Racine, Wisconsin as a Green Bay Packer fan.  In Wisconsin, both my older brother “Intense Dave” and I played YMCA youth football.  My brother played one season for the (in)famous “Cardinals”.  The Cardinals were led by coach, family friend, and devote NFL Cardinal(St. Louis at the time) fan Gene Spolar.   The YMCA cardinals, like the NFL cardinals, were not really successful in the YMCA league. 

In fact, the team was winless for several seasons. 

At the beginning of the season the year that my brother played on the team, Gene Spolar provided the team with a little inspiration.  He said that if they could win just one game, he would then shave his head completely bald.  The 70s was a time when bald was not in fashion.  Yes, the team did win that one game that eluded them for the past several seasons and Gene was a bald man.  I would like to think that my brothers effort on the field was the straw that broke the win-less camel back.  That was my recollection anyway and I will stick to it.

Today, it another David and Goliath story with the under dog Cardinals playing the favored Pittsburgh Steelers.  When I think of the Cardinals(now in Arizona),  I always think of our friend and coach Gene Spolar who never wavered or gave up on his beloved Cardinals.  It takes a lot of guts to be a Cardinal fan in Packer country.  Well,  yesterday, the Racine Journal Times paper columnist Peter Jackel wrote an article about Gene Spolar.  His sons Tony, Tim and Toby are taking Gene to Raymond James Stadium for the Cardinals- Steelers  Super Bowl.  Gene celebrated his 70th birthday on Friday.  What a present for you Gene!!!  I wish you the best on Sunday.