School is about to rev up again...

Somehow, Summer has flown by. I'd guess; this is simply a part of me getting older and the family getting busier. The kiddo and his neighborhood friends are all commisserating about the too quickly fleeting Summer break.

However, I'm looking forward to school starting back up. The neighborhood is quieter, and the family comes closer together again. The earlier dark hours are very condusive to family reading or art or science time, and the nonstop Holidays give good cause for feasts and family outings. Our Summer has been filled with learning experiences, but the Fall/Winter/Spring months bring about Seasonal delights that lend themselves to long-sleeved, button-down shirts, soggy journeys, and journals. ...and likely, more blogging.

For the past few days, I've been reviewing Cole's school supplies and doing inventories in my head. Some of his texts and supplies have sparked my interest already - The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia Of World History, the chemistry set (sweet!), setting up our art journals (Cathy Johnson has some great examples). The feeling in the house really does change when it's time to buckle down. We all get into it.

We've been a bit MIA of late...takes a lot of time and effort to launch an insurance agency, but we've done it. Thompson Insurance Agency is up and running. We serve KS and MO residents in personal and commercial insurance. If your agent isn't a friend or family member, check us out. We represent excellent carriers and products, and our office provides excellent customer service.

Otherwise, I'm still doing a little tutoring and copy-writing. Doug is working like crazy. We're hopeful; we'll be able to take a family trip in the Fall. Since most of our time since January has been in getting this family business off of the ground, we didn't take a ton of time off or go on our usual trip down to the Lake this Summer. All of us could use some time away from here...out hiking around somewhere beautiful.

Here are just a few pix from the Fourth of July. We had a GREAT time in our neighborhood. We could see the City's display at William Jewell, perfectly...turned out to be quite a surreal experience in a downpour. It was a great display! Cole and his bud blew up plenty of stuff during the day, and after the rain stopped at 2am, the neighbors were back at it....turns out so was Cole at his sleepover. Tenacious celebrators!

Knowing Summer is quickly winding down, we're kicking off our weekend this evening with hamburgers on the grill.

Hope you enjoy your weekend!!

Boy finds rare pink grasshopper

By Lori Bongiorno

Daniel Tate, an English schoolboy, was looking for grasshoppers at a wildlife event he attended with his great-grandfather last week.

But the 11-year old boy and his companions at Seaton Marshes Local Nature Reserve had no idea what a huge surprise they were in for. Tate saw something pink that he thought was a flower. But when it jumped he knew it was a grasshopper.

It turns out that it was an adult female common green grasshopper that just happened to be born pink.

Experts aren't sure what caused this mutation. Grasshoppers of different colors, including pink, are unusual but not unheard of according to experts. What makes this particular grasshopper so rare is the intensity of the pink, according to Fraser Rush, a nature reserves officer in Britain.

Most people find insects annoying, but they can certainly benefit people and the planet. Praying mantises, for example, eat ticks, mosquitoes, flies, beetles, and other pests. Fewer mosquitoes and ticks in your backyard translates into fewer applications of toxic bug repellents. Organic gardeners use praying mantises, common ladybugs, and other beneficial insects to control pests as an alternative to pesticides.

Check out Yahoo! Green on Twitter and Facebook.

Source: Yahoo Green Picks

And Like the Phoenix, It is Reborn!

September 9th, 2009 9:46 AM by Phil Plait in Astronomy, Cool stuff, NASA, Pretty pictures

After a long and nervous wait for those of us stuck on Earth, the world’s most famous observatory is back on the job! Behold!

Woot!

That’s NGC 6217, a spiral galaxy as seen by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, a workhorse detector on Hubble that went on the fritz in January 2007. But when the STS-125 brought the Space Shuttle Atlantis to Hubble, it also carried two new cameras and the tools to fix two older, busted ones, including ACS. After a daring series of repairs and upgrades, Hubble is now back up to speed.

This ACS image is gorgeous. NGC 6217 is relatively close by, at a distance of roughly 80 million light years (note that some early press said it was 6 million light years away, which is incorrect.

The gas and stars in the middle form an exquisite rectangular bar across the core due to complicated gravitational interactions, and you can easily pick out huge numbers of glowing pink star forming areas, where stars are being born in prodigious quantities. And even from this vast distance — 800 quintillion kilometers (500 quintillion miles) — Hubble can still pick out individual stars in the spiral arms. These are the biggest, baddest, and brightest ones, the stars that will someday explode as monstrous supernovae… and you can rest assured astronomers will be using Hubble or its successors to observe them when they do.

But there’s more! Click here to read full post.

SOURCE: DiscoverMagazine.com

Photo credit: Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team

Woody Allen? ...but of course.

"..and I wondered if a memory was something you have or something you've lost."

I just found out that my latest movie fascination, Another Woman (1988), was written and directed by Woody Allen. I should have guessed by the subject and its delivery, the familiar lighting, the typical narration, Mia's appearance, and of course, by the soundtrack.

Gena Rowlands is superb, and her supporting cast is quite dazzling: Ian Holm, the aforementioned Mia Farrow, Blythe Danner, and Gene Hackman round out this rich story of a 50+ philosophy professor, Marion Post (Gena Rowlands), who is spurred into self-analysis and self-awakening by the random chance of location.

If you haven't seen what must be one of Woody's more obscure films (??? I don't know; I thought I'd seen them all), you must give this one some of your time.

If you enjoy Woody Allen, you'll love Another Woman!

Perseid Meteor Shower to Yield 80 Meteors an Hour

By Ann Minard for National Geographic News

Photo Source: A "shooting star" streaks over Canada's Quebec Province during the Perseid meteor shower on August 12, 2008. The 2009 Perseid show is expected to peak on Tuesday, August 11.Photograph by Michael Tournay, My Shot

The Perseid meteor shower will have to fight it out with a bright moon for visibility this year, but astronomers are still predicting a dazzling show.

From any vantage point in the world, you might see more than 80 meteors an hour streak across the sky during the best viewing time, when the moon's glare will be weakest—late Tuesday night and into the wee hours of Wednesday, local cloud and lighting conditions permitting.

The highest concentration of Perseid meteors hitting Earth's atmosphere will occur during Wednesday afternoon, when they'll be largely invisible.

The Perseid sky show is "always the best annual meteor shower," said Bill Cooke, the lead for NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office in Alabama.

"Visually, the best are the Geminids. But December nights are cold, and people don't want to freeze their rears off."

Perseid Meteor Shower Viewing Tips

The moon will provide some interference for the Perseids, at just over half full and rising around midnight. The best advice: Look away from the moon—and all other lights—so your eyes stay as dark-adapted as possible.

To see the Perseid meteor shower, bring a blanket to a place away from city lights and lay on your back, taking in as much of the sky as possible.

The Perseid meteors will appear to originate in the northeastern sky, near the constellation Perseus, and to shoot off in all directions, said Brian Skiff, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff (see animated star chart below).

"Since the radiant point is close to ... Perseus, it is common to see them streaking right along the Milky Way, even as far away as Sagittarius," he said. "After midnight, Perseus will have risen higher in the sky, and the meteors can be seen in just about any direction."

Perseids: More Than a "Geek Pickup Line"

The Perseid meteors are bits of 2,000-year-old debris left behind by the periodic comet Swift-Tuttle. Earth's atmosphere collides with the debris at more than 38 kilometers (23 miles) a second (comet facts).

(Related: "Comet Swarm Delivered Earth's Oceans?")

The meteors generally get incinerated before they can strike the ground, creating the streaks of superheated, glowing air we call shooting stars.

NASA's Cooke has made a career of studying meteors, but that wasn't always his primary reason for watching meteor showers, he said.

"It was the best way to get the girls out on a date," he said. "It was used as a geek pickup line back in my day."

Young Guns

"Whenever I have to choose between two evils, I always like to try the one I haven't tried before."

-Mae West

My brother - Devon, Grandpa Beasley, and Yours Truly...circa 1981. We're so lucky they never sent us to the circus!

Rare Albino Whale Spotting

July 2, 2009--Migaloo, a twentysomething rare white humpback whale was seen this week along Australia's each coast, where he's migrating northward with other humpbacks.

Source: National Geographic via Youtube.com

Stingray Averts Killer Whale

...not sure if it was ultimately successful in its attempt.

A stingray leaps out of the water as it is hunted by a killer whale, whose fin can be seen below the ray, just off St. Heliers beach in Auckland, New Zealand, Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

(AP Photo/New Zealand Herald Photograph, Brett Phibbs)

The Salty Waters of Saturn's Moon Hint at Life

By Jeffrey Kluger Friday, Jun. 26, 2009

If water is the elixir of life, it's no wonder that Earth — which is 70% ocean — simply teems with living things. The other planets and moons in the solar system don't have it so good. They're forbidding places that are hydrological deserts, and thus biological ones too.

That, at least, had long been the conventional wisdom, but in recent years, scientists have come to learn that by some measures, the solar system fairly sloshes with water. Mars, we now know, was once as wet as Earth and still harbors ice and perhaps liquid water. The moon is thought to have water locked in permafrost at its poles. Jupiter's moon Europa is probably home to a globe-girdling ocean beneath a thin rind of ice, and its Jovian sisters Callisto and Ganymede appear to be icy and wet too. Now, according to new findings by the Cassini spacecraft, one more name can be added to the list of water worlds: Enceladus, a small moon orbiting Saturn. What's more, Enceladus' water might be unusually hospitable to the emergence of life.

(See the 50 highs and lows of space exploration.)

The Cassini probe, which was launched from Earth in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004, had a big job to do: principally, studying the planet's elaborate ring system and taking a census of its litter of moons — of which 53 have been found and named. Of those, Enceladus, discovered in 1789, held some of the deepest secrets.

(See pictures of Saturn.)

Even viewed from Earth, the 310-mile-diameter moon appears bright white, almost as if covered in ice or snow; when the Voyager 1 spacecraft arrived at Saturn in 1981, it confirmed that long-distance impression. More intriguing was the way Enceladus behaved. Embedded inside Saturn's E ring — the outermost of the eight bands that make up the ring system — Enceladus seemed to orbit with a thick clump of ring matter trailing behind it, almost as if it were dragging the material in its gravitational wake. What astronomers suspected instead — and what Voyager confirmed — was that Enceladus was not dragging matter but expelling it, chugging through its orbits like a locomotive and leaving a vapor trail behind it. What astronomers couldn't know for sure was what the exhaust was made of.

(Watch a video of the first broadcast from the moon.)

"Potential plume sources on Enceladus are an active area of research," says Linda Spilker, a Cassini project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

In 2005, Cassini helped advance that research when it endeavored to determine the composition of the exhaust in the most straightforward way possible: by flying through it and registering the thousands of high-speed pellets that collided with its skin. The speed and density of the pellets confirmed that they were ice. Analyzing the precise composition of that ice has taken years, but the results, published this week in the journal Nature, were worth the wait.

Not only is the ice made of ordinary water, but it's salt water, with sodium turning up in the samples no matter how many times the ring material was retested. "Our measurements imply that besides table salt, the grains also contain carbonates like soda," says Frank Postberg, a Cassini scientist working at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, Germany. (See a photo-essay of the world's most competitive space programs.)

For biologists, that's huge. The only way to account for that particular chemistry is if the salts have dissolved out of rocks in the interior of Enceladus into a large quantity of standing water, as would occur if the moon had a subsurface ocean. "Both components [table salt and carbonates] are in concentrations that match the predicted composition of an Enceladus ocean," says Postberg. "The carbonates also provide a slightly alkaline pH value, which could provide a suitable environment on Enceladus for life precursors."

How a moon that hangs in the frigid depths of the solar system could keep water in a liquid state is not much of a mystery. Too small to have a molten core and too far from the sun to feel even a flicker of its heat, Enceladus does have other moons — principally outlying Tethys and Dione — orbiting nearby. Each time those moons pass, they give Enceladus a gravitational tug, which causes it to flex slightly. Do that enough times — and the 4 billion years the solar system has been around is more than enough — and the pulsing moon heats up in much the way a wire hanger does if you bend it repeatedly back and forth. That explains both why the water stays liquid and why it's repeatedly squeezed up through cracks and into space, where it flash-freezes into icy mist.

The book on Enceladus is by no means closed, and Cassini has two more flybys of the moon scheduled for November. Scientists aren't expecting to find proof of biology there anytime soon — but now, at least, they've got a good reason to look.

See an interactive graphic of landing sites on the moon.
See TIME's space-exploration covers.

Source: Time.com

Two Weeks!!!

Summer-time...and the livin's easy...

Cole had just returned from a six day trip to the Lake of the Ozarks with his friends (first time without parents!) and wanted to catch up on some XBOX Live.



Foreground: Cole's laptop and weather books. We were having incredible thunder and lightening storms with the threat of hail and tornadoes. Cole likes to keep us in the know and was giving regular updates on the impending storms.

Astronauts finish repairs on Hubble space telescope

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn, Ap Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Spacewalking astronauts completed repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope on Monday, leaving it more powerful than ever and able to peer even deeper into the cosmos — almost to the brink of creation. The last humans to lay hands on Hubble outfitted the observatory with another set of fresh batteries, a new sensor for precise pointing and protective covers.

That equipment, along with other improvements made over the last five days, should allow the telescope to provide dazzling views of the universe for another five to 10 years.

"This is a very important moment in human history," Hubble senior project scientist David Leckrone said in Houston. "We will rewrite the textbooks at least one more time."
It was the fifth and final spacewalk for the shuttle Atlantis crew, and the final visit by astronauts ever to Hubble.

As the spacewalk drew to a close, Hubble's chief mechanic, John Grunsfeld, accidentally bumped one of the telescope's antennas and knocked off its cap with his backpack.

"Oh, I feel terrible," he groaned.

Mission Control quickly assured the astronauts the antenna was fine.

"Sorry, Mr. Hubble, have a good voyage," Grunsfeld said after he covered up the tip.

"Consider it a goodbye kiss, John," one of his crewmates said.

The astronauts planned to set Hubble free from the shutte's cargo bay on Tuesday.

During this emotional last house call, astronauts gave Hubble two state-of-the-art science instruments and fixed two others.

The $220 million worth of new instruments should allow the telescope to gaze farther back into time — within 500 million or 600 million years of the first moments of the universe.

Prior to the repairs, Hubble was able to look back to within 800 million years.

Hubble program manager Preston Burch acknowledged that the telescope still has some original parts, but noted "in many ways it is a brand-new observatory and far, far more capable than the Hubble of 1990."

Mission Control congratulated the astronauts for successfully completing "electronic brain surgery" Monday during a spacewalk that lasted more than seven hours.

In addition to the batteries and the sensor, Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel installed steel foil sheets to protect against radiation and the extreme temperature changes of space.

It was messy work. Pieces of the old insulation broke off and floated harmlessly away.

"I was hoping to retrieve those for memories," said Grunsfeld, an astrophysicist who has spent more time working on the orbiting Hubble than anyone. He's visited Hubble twice before, and plans to use the telescope once he's back on Earth to study the moon.

As he applied the new insulation with a roller, a voice from space sang "rollin', rollin', rollin'" to the theme song from the TV show "Rawhide."

But the total 37 hours of spacewalks were by no means routine. The astronauts had some trouble removing an old camera and had to install a refurbished pair of gyroscopes after a brand-new set refused to go in.

Sunday's spacewalk was particularly exasperating: a stuck bolt almost prevented astronauts from fixing a burned-out science instrument. Brute force saved the day.

During the mission, the four spacewalkers, two per team, managed to fix two science instruments that had broken down years ago and were never meant to be tinkered with in orbit.
They also replaced a faltering science data-handling device and installed a docking ring so a robotic craft can latch on and steer the telescope into the Pacific sometime in the early 2020s.
"We pulled it off," an ecstatic Feustel said after the final spacewalk.

All told, this visit to Hubble cost more than $1 billion.

"We have a saying ... 'Science never sleeps,' and our work is just beginning,'" said Jon Morse, NASA's director of astrophysics. "And we can't wait to get out there and use Hubble for its intended purposes."

NASA hopes to crank Hubble back up by summer's end, following extensive testing of its new parts.

But already scientists have gotten more than they expected out of Hubble when it was launched in 1990 with a projected lifetime of 15 years.

Once its blurred vision was corrected in 1993 and NASA's reputation was restored, the telescope began churning out breathtaking images: among other things, stars in the throes of birth and death.

Back at the launch site, NASA maintained its vigil in case another shuttle needed to rush to the rescue. Atlantis escaped serious launch damage a week ago, but was susceptible to all the space junk in Hubble's 350-mile-high orbit. The astronauts will perform one last survey of their ship after releasing the telescope.

NASA took unprecedented steps to have Endeavour on the pad as a rescue ship, because the Atlantis astronauts have nowhere to seek shelter if they cannot return to Earth because of shuttle damage. The space station is in another, unreachable orbit.

The increased risk prompted NASA to cancel the mission five years ago in the wake of the Columbia accident. It was reinstated two years later.

With NASA's three remaining space shuttles set for retirement next year, there will no way for astronauts to return to Hubble. The new spacecraft under development will be much smaller and less of a workhorse than the shuttle, and lack a big robot arm for grabbing the telescope.
Hubble's replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope, will be launched in 2014 by an unmanned rocket and placed in an orbit inaccessible to astronauts.

NASA officials said the farewell to Hubble would be bittersweet.

"We all recognize we've gotten almost 20 years of service out of it. And it will be cranking along there for another five years," said Burch, the program manager. "Maybe it is time to move on."
___
On the Net:
NASA: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_sc/storytext/us_shuttle_hubble/32061094/SIG=11qr00th7/*http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

Earth To Mars

This project came from the experience that we all have whilst looking at the stars during our childhood, when we suddenly realize the infinity of the universe and that we are but a tiny part of it.

Yesterday's blog feature was about the reality of space travel. But Vincent Fournier's "Space Project" series is inspired by science fiction -- by the classic, whimsical stories of Jules Verne, in particular. His photos appear to have been taken in a desolate, futuristic wasteland. In other words: it looks like Mars.

(Click here to go to original post with picture show.)

In one sense, it's a photo documentary on some of the world's leading space research stations. Some photos were taken at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, where students and researchers actually wear space suits to simulate what it's like to be on Mars. Others were taken near observatories in the Atacama Desert in Chile, in the French Alps and on the summit of Hawaii's Mauna Kea.

But without that context, these photos appear otherworldly, which makes it science fiction, too. The fact that Utah can so closely resemble Mars means that there's still room for exploration in our own backyard. Fournier begs the viewer to be curious, to dream, to confound what's imaginary and what's real. Take a look at some of the images from Utah and Chile -- or maybe Mars -- here. But also be sure to check out the whole series.

"Space Project" will be showing at New York's Clic Gallery in early October. Photos courtesy Vincent Fournier, found on Multimedia Muse.

Also: Did you know Mars has a flag?

By Claire O'Neill

The Picture Show on Facebook on Twitter

Source: http://www.npr.org/

Art Springs in Gladstone - Show Kicks Off Tonight

by Diane Thompson, art by Ryan Kruse

2nd Annual Art Springs Gladstone Fine Arts Show and Sale
Friday, April 24, 6:30 PM–9 PM - cash bar and musical entertainmentSaturday,
April 25, 10 AM-8 PM
Gladstone Community Center
7010 N. Holmes, Gladstone, MO
www.gladstone.mo.us/artSprings

Free admission. Open to the public.


The Ryan Kruse Foundation for the Arts Featured at Art Show.

On Friday, April 24th and Saturday, April 25th, 2009, the Northland will host its 2nd Annual Art Springs in Gladstone fine arts show and sale at the new Gladstone Community Center. This FREE event is sponsored by the City of Gladstone, The Gladstone Arts Commission, and the Northland Art League. The event will showcase more than 60 artists, displaying works for sale inside and outside of the Center.

Among those setting up space will be The Ryan Kruse Foundation for the Arts, Art Springs sponsor and a Kansas City area non-profit organization for artists. The Foundation was created by Gregg & Diane Kruse of Gladstone, MO as a memorial to their 18 year old son, Ryan, who died in a skateboarding accident in 2005. Ryan Kruse pieces will be on display at the event.

Ryan’s art ranged from sketches on notebook paper to cartoons to canvas painting. He was a free-spirited artist with a comedic flair who let his thoughts and feelings flow in his art. Ryan’s self-portrait, “The Skater”, is part of the Foundation logo. Though a talented artist, Ryan encountered little encouragement to explore where his art could take him and found even greater limits on the venues available for displaying his work. The Foundation’s goal is to open doors for youth artists like Ryan.

“The Ryan Kruse Foundation for the Arts carries on Ryan’s spirit of going for it, encourages youth artists, and shows there is value and a place in our Community for creative, artistic expression,” say the Kruses.

The purpose of the Foundation’s sponsorship at the event is not to sell art; rather, its goal is to raise awareness about the Foundation whose mission is to provide artists a place for artistic expression and recognition for their talent at little or no cost. Though any age and any skill level are welcome to participate in the Art Springs show, the Foundation has a special focus in supporting youth artists who are just beginning to explore their talent. To assist artists participating in the event, the Foundation and the Kruses’ graphic business, FASTSIGNS, will fund a portion of the expense for large format reproductions for their exhibits. The Foundation will also present the Ryan Kruse Memorial Awards on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to three artists as selected by a panel from the Northland Art League.

In only its second year, the Foundation has plans to organize an exhibit of works from students in the North Kansas City and surrounding school districts with assistance from Gladstone Arts Commission and the Northland Art League. The Kruses are delighted the Foundation provides an outlet to area artists in the name of their son, and they look forward to continuing to grow the Foundation.

Artists may also upload their art to the Foundation’s free online gallery at: http://www.ryankrusefoundation.com/. The gallery includes media in the areas of paintings, photography, charcoals, abstracts, and more. Any form of artistic expression is accepted. Cartoons, tattoo art, metal art, sculptures, simple sketches, caricatures – all have a place next to the more traditional forms of fine art. Free assistance is available to those who do not know how to or do not have the equipment to scan and set up files for uploading to the gallery.

The Ryan Kruse Foundation is seeking assistance in spreading the word to artists and other creative individuals looking for the opportunity to express themselves. To date, the Foundation has operated solely on memorial funds given by family and friends at the time of Ryan’s death. To continue their mission, the Kruses’ non-profit organization must rely on donations and volunteers. Information to donate or volunteer is on the website or you may email to diane@ryankrusefoundation.com.

Information on the art show can be found at www.gladstone.mo.us/artSprings.

Catching Up...the 411

Confronted with a pile of bills and other miscellaneous biz-related miles of piles on my so-called dining room table, I choose to sit here - in front of my laptop, blogging. Well, who wouldn't when faced with those options? Truly.

The past couple of weeks have been a blur of excitement, anxiety, and fun with a trip to Chicago to the Housewares Show to launch a new product, the conclusion of my company's youth short fiction contest, and tons and tons of work to catch up on. Cole started guitar lessons, and Doug and Cole are considering the pursuit of Hapkido (a martial art).

So, I've been a bit remiss about writing and feel a whole heck of a lot more motivated to do THIS instead of bills. Where did we leave off? My Diane Arbus articles took a lot out of me. I was totally obsessing over her life and her body of work, the political climate of her time, her death, and the movie, Fur, a made-up tale of her life, starring Nicole Kidman.

Some times things or people or scientific theories hit me like that. Diane's power over me was so strong, because it was so multi-faceted. From the fantastical and unusual photographs she took, to her aristocratic upbringing, to the fact that she was married to one of my favorite actors who played the psychiatrist in MASH (who knew!?)- the fact that Diane was a mother, and an artist - all of these things played (and obviously continue to play) on my imagination. And then, there is her untimely and self-inflicted death and the accolades her work received a year after her death. So many things to learn about, to look at, and to think on; Diane Arbus is a contradiction, a mystery, and completely fantastic! Check out her stuff if you haven't had the chance. She is not one to be overlooked. Diane. Diane. Diane. Those were actually lyrics to an 80s pop song, entitled the same...though Diane Arbus is pronounced dee-ann..but anyway, enough...

Sooooo, I spent five days in Chicago on planes, trains, and automobiles, working with my aunt to launch her new invention, the Jeweler in the Dishwasher, a super cool, super effective and SAFE jewelery cleaning unit that goes in the dishwasher.

It was an amazing and exhausting show. The International Housewares Show is HUGE. There were over 3000 exhibitors. Here are a couple of pix. I'm happy to say the show was a success, and she is filling orders for retailers! More on this later. You can check the unit out at: http://jewelerinthedishwasher.com/.

Chicago is one of my favorite cities, and I wish we would have been there to play! After 91/2 hours on the showroom floor and with all of the walking and talking, the last thing we wanted to do in the evening was to go site seeing. Definitely want to get back out that way this Summer with the family. During past visits, I've enjoyed all the typical venues: Shedd's Aquarium, Wrigley for a Cubs game, Kingston Mines, Buddy Guy's Legends, the Pier, the Museum, the Planetarium...all of the cool shops and galleries. What a terrific Midwestern city!

Jacque and I met some lovely, genuine folks while we were there. Here's a shout out to Edward with a variety of Hulk-strength trash bags (next booth over from LA) and to Barb, and Jodi, the Hangshaper gals from Minnesota (2 booths down)! Hope you made it home okay and are selling millions! I, also, had the good fortune to run into some potential graphic design opportunities; we'll see how they pan out. I'm sincerely grateful for the work. I need it, but what I'd REALLY like to be doing (again - not that I'm turning work away, folks!) is more coaching and writing. I just can't get enough of either.

An acquaintance stopped by today, and we got to talking about what we've both been up to, respectively, and in the midst of our conversation, she shifted gears and blurted out, "every time I'm around you, you make me feel so good," and went on to say with the BIGGEST smile on her face, "we need to find a reason to hang out." This is MY gift; I'm telling you. I have an intuitive way of quickly and objectively sizing up a person's situation, ability to assess what it is they are looking for and/or what is missing in their life and/or what is hindering them from realizing their goals (DREAMS!)...even in the most infinitesimally brief moment, I have a way of reflecting a person's best self.

Most importantly, I sincerely appreciate the individuals I am interacting with; I hear them, and I help to keep them on their path (think that new Fidelity commercial with the green line, helping people find their way among the chaos...little dramatic, but you get the picture). The individual creates the map, and I merely act as the compass. My coaching business is called Open Mind Coaching. I specialize in career, life, and adult ADHD coaching. I'm fairly new (I've been informally coaching for ten years and became certified a year ago), so my rates are reasonable, and I offer a relaxed coaching environment. All coaching is done via telephone. Click the image below if you're interested in learning more about this.

Didn't really mean for this to become an infomercial, but 'tis the season, right? Coaching may seem a luxury during these times of economic crisis, but sometimes a coach is just what a person needs to get them through the storm to see the light and to find their way. It's proven (somewhere -I swear!) that people actually spend more money on self-care products and services during recessions. They often use the excuse of needing to look good for job interviews or to appear to take their job more seriously. Seriously? I totally understand the need to invest in oneself when stressed to the max. We need a little pampering, but invest in something more important. Take the money you're spending on your nails and invest it in your psyche and goals. You'll be sold in a month! ...in my humble coach's opinion - lol. Wow, okay..tangent, but hey, I'm passionate about this portion of my professional life!

Sooooo (this is the second time I've started a sentence this way, which means I'm writing in a very disjointed and gushy fashion), Chicago was an insane amount of work and stress. Came home to bipolar Missouri weather and fell ill with the crud. I'm feeling much better. Waking up today to the KREATIV Blogger award today was delightful.

Hanging out with Cole made my day. We had tacos for lunch with his Aunt Carla at our favorite joint in Parkville. We also ran around, dropping off the publication from last year's short fiction contest and writing tutoring flyers for my Tuesday workshops at the library and some small businesses. Cole is getting more serious about his guitar lessons, which is nice to hear about, and he is currently reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I can't get enough of talking to him about this story. If you know anyone of any age who needs a self-esteem lift, have them give it a read. It's very short but impactful. If you dig it, read on with Illusions, Bridges Across Forever, and One all by Richard Bach. Metaphysics. Love. Airplanes. Unconventional Messiahs. Star Wars. All ingredients for good stuff. I've been reading them over and over for 20+ years.

The sun is setting, which means I need to get my butt off of the computer. Glad to check in and debrief. I'm gearing up for an article on a new quantum physics theory, Entanglement, I read about in the latest Scientific America. Keep an eye out for it. It challenges Einstein's special theory of relativity. I've been trying to absorb it before attempting to write on it; it's complex, mind-blowing stuff.

Thanks for your comments and readership!

The Voices of Diane Arbus, Master Photographer (1923-1971)

Check out the following documentary on Diane Arbus with an introduction by her daughter, Doon Arbus. Hear her own words speak on her fascination with "freaks" read by Mary Claire Costello, one of her close friends. There are also interviews with Lisette Model, a European émigree and photographer who instructed a class Diane attended, with John Szarkowski, Curator of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art from 1962-1991, and with Marvin Israel, co-author of An Aperture Monograph with Doon Arbus, and more. Also, I've included some clips from the movie, Fur at the end. I highly recommend renting it; outstanding! Note, these videos may not be for your kiddies. Parental discretion is advised.

Going Where I've Never Been
Part I




Going Where I've Never Been
Part II




Going Where I've Never Been
Part III




Going Where I've Never Been
Part IV




Videos from Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
The Making of Fur




Fur Trailer




Fur Clip

Women's History Month: Diane Arbus (1923-1971)

The public celebration of women's history in the United States began in 1978 as Women's History Week in Sonoma, California. In 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) co-sponsored a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming a national Women's History Week. In 1987, Congress expanded the celebration to a month, and March was declared Women's History Month.

Before the 1970s, there were one or two scholars who would refer to themselves as "women historians." Until this time, history was written by men about men and quite frankly, for men. However, fueled by the feminist movement of the 60s and the continued political and economic discrimination of the female sex in the 70s, women turned to their own history as a way to document their status as second-class citizens. The invisibility of women in history was to become a thing of the past.

A traditional study of Women's History would generally include a chronological examination of distinguished and influential women in history such as Abigail Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank, Indira Ghandi, Queen Elizabeth I, Maya Angelou and many other important female icons whose stories shape Women's History as we know it today.

Issues at the forefront in documenting women's history were of the broader spectrum of American life, including such topics as the history of urban life, public health, ethnicity, the media, and poverty. As with the focus of most western history, the initial documentation of women's history tended to present a typical middle-class, white experience. Since few women held high political or professional positions in America in the 1970s and as civil rights stood ever-more in the forefront of politics, Women's History grew to include a more diverse cultural story and the shared, ordinary experiences of women such as child-rearing, birth control, education, family, and sexuality.

2009 Women's History Month: A Reflection of Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus is my own personal study during this month's celebration of Women's History. Inspired by the movie Fur, a fantastical and imaginary tale, released in 2006 and starring Nicole Kidman, I've been digging into the personal, professional, and artistic history of one of America's most important photographers of the 20th Century - Diane Arbus.

Kidman, a distinguished artist in her own right, beautifully and delicately portrays the eccentric photographer and her fascination with her neighbor, played by Robert Downey, Jr., who has stuck her fancy and who inspires her to explore her inner freak and photography in this whimsical, somewhat biographical tale.

Diane Arbus began photographing in the 1950s. Her work has been described as "contemporary anthology" and juxtaposes American stereotypes. Diane's work ranged from commercial photography for magazines such as Esquire and Vogue to the ordinary and even bizarre. As she shed the constraints of her traditional, affluent upbringing and American cultural expectations, Diane had a propensity for spending time with and photographing drag queens, circus performers, the mentally ill, and nudists - those who were on the fringe.




















(Photo by Diane Arbus - Untitled. 1970-71)

Diane (dee-ann) Arbus was born in 1923 to wealthy, Jewish parents, David and Gertrude Nemerov. She had a privileged life with her two siblings in New York City, growing up in large apartments on Central Park West and later Park Avenue. Diane's family owned Russek's of Fifth Avenue, which was a department store specializing in furs. "I grew up feeling immune and exempt from circumstance. One of the things I suffered from was that I never felt adversity. I was confirmed in a sense of unreality," she later told Studs Terkel, for his Hard Times: An Oral History of the Depression.

Diane met Allan Arbus in her parents' store when she was 13, and the two married in 1941when she was 18. Allan and Diane owned and operated a fashion photography studio in New York City where they carried out stereotypical roles of the time with Allan as photographer and Diane as assistant. However, their photographs were published giving credit to them both. They shot for magazines such as Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times Magazine, and Vogue, but their wealth never measured to that of Diane's family's.

The couple had two children, Doon and Yolanda and continued to work together until 1956 when Diane decided to pursue her work independently. Though the couple remained friends, they separated in 1959. "I always felt that it was our separation that made her a photographer," Allan told the New York Times . "I couldn't have stood for her going to the places she did. She'd go to bars on the Bowery and to people's houses. I would have been horrified." Allan remarried in 1969 and moved to California where he won the role as Dr. Sydney Freidman on M.A.S.H. Diane Arbus would go on to become one of the most original and influential photographers in the Country.

Arbus' most widely known images are those of her more freakish subjects and reflect her dark documentary-style. Diane was awarded Guggenheim fellowships both in 1963 and 1966 for her non-commercial work. In 1967, John Szarkowski, curator of photography at the Modern Museum of Art, featured Arbus in the New Journalism movements's (think Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe) manifesto exhibit, New Documents, where Diane established her reputation. Her story is the stuff of Shakespeare, and her own tragic decline stopped abruptly a few years after her launch.

Succumbing to depression in 1971, Diane committed suicide by consuming barbiturates and cutting her wrists. The Museum of Modern art held a retrospective of her work a year later, which became the most attended solo photography exhibitions in history. The art book that followed, edited by Doon Arbus and Marvin Israel is one of the best selling art books in history.

Diane Arbus' story tells the tale of of so many other great artists - brilliant and tortured. Her life and work are an important part of not only Women's History but also of the photography scene of 20th Century American and of the New Documents movement. Arbus touched, and continues to touch, people with a creepily mythical hand.

"Freaks was a thing I photographed a lot," she wrote. "It was one of the first things I photographed and it had a terrific kind of excitement for me. I just used to adore them. I still do adore some of them. I don't quite mean they're my best friends but they made me feel a mixture of shame and awe. There's a quality of legend about freaks. Like a person in a fairy tale who stops you and demands that you answer a riddle. Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats." (1)(2)

Images found on the internet by Diane Arbus




















Identical Twins. Aperture.




















Untitled. 1970-71




















Tattooed Man at Carnival. MD. 1970





















Title Unknown.

Mia Farrow.

A Family on Their Lawn One Sunday in Westchester. NY. 1968

Ozzy and Harriett.

Title Unknown.

Masked Woman in Wheelchair. PA. 1970

(1) Terkel, Studs. Hard Times: An Oral History of the Depression. Newpress, 2000.

(2) Oppenheimer, Daniel. Diane Arbus. The Valley Advocate.

Cole by the River (February 2009)

IYA2009 KC Kick-Off Photos

Checking out Venus.

Getting ready to go check out the Linda Hall

activities.

Heading to grab some hot cocoa and a chai.

Thanks to Doug for taking all of the photos last night.

He really was there!! : )

Hot Chocolate Bliss!

There are never enough marshmellows!

Cole's hot chocolate mug. Look at that face!

DELICIOUS!