I went out to photograph the pending storm this afternoon. Laurie asked if I was doing a time lapse video. I told her I needed to go in and get my tripod. On the way in to get my tripod, Laurie asked if I thought it was too early to take the clothes off the line. I said you probably should take them in earlier than later. My clothes got caught in a downpour last weekend and I had to bring them inside and rehang them in the house. Laurie headed for the clothes line, a went in and grabbed my tripod. I opened the door to the deck and “Boom!” the rain started coming down hard. Laurie had hung her clothes on hangers on the clothes line, so she was able to get the clothes gathered and inside before she got too wet. Very smart of her. The rain was intense for about an hour, which included hail every now and then.
Here’s a short video of the rain with a little hail.
Spunk decided to go inside and show the kittens how to sing with his tail while it rained. I put a translation of what he is singing on the ticker tape along the bottom of the screen in the video.
This is literally a bloody awful music video. Gwendolyn and Glenda have been doing great imitations of Chupacabra. I had to make a parody music video for G&G with them doing their own imitations. This video will definitely give Brian nightmares.
Chupacabra Lyrics: Timothy Price Music: John Lennon
Chupacabra’s gonna to get you He’s going to grab you by the head He’s going to rip your throat out Mr. He’ll suck your blood until you’re dead Why in the hell do you want to park And walk in the bosque after dark What do you think you’re trying to prove Chupacabra he’ll get to you
Chupacabra’s going to get you He’s going to grab you by the face Gonna suck all your blood out sister Take you from the human race You know you’re never going to be Saved by a fool not me Who the hell do you think I am A Superman Or Sam I Am
Beware You’ll all die young From the wounds and the scars and the blood Chupa he’s the one Bleeding everyone just for fun
Chupacabra’s gonna to get you Gonna knock you off your feet He’ll pull you down asunder Like everyone he meets You should not be standing there You will surely meet disappear And why it’s not so very clear That Chupa’s everywhere He kills and takes his share
Beware You’ll all die young From the wounds and the scars and the blood Chupa he’s the one Bleeding everyone yes everyone Yeah yeah, alright, uh huh, ah
Beware You’ll all die young From the wounds and the scars and the blood Beware You’ll all die young
Beware You’ll all die young From the wounds and the scars and the blood Beware You’ll ll die young From the wounds and the scars and the blood Beware You’ll all die young From the wounds and the scars and the blood Beware You’ll ll die young From the wounds and the scars and the blood
What do cats do in the heat of hangdog daze of summer? They be cool. As everyone should know, cats are always cool. Spunk knows he’s “Hot” based on his kitty good looks, but he has always been, and there never was a time that he was not, a super cool cat. But when it’s hot, the cats like to “hangdog” around and look cool.
Spunk putting on the cool hangdog daze look.
Silver in a hangdog daze.
Sasha hangdogging in style.
Spunk knows a cool place to be on a hangdog hot day is in the cooler. Marble thinking about joining him.
Loki enjoying in the airflow from the cooler.
Spunk daydreaming, while Marble naps on the cool glass top.
A thunderstorm blew in around 5:00 pm with a lot of noise and about 4 drops of rain. However, the temperature dropped from 103º F (39.4º C) to 89º F (31.6º C) in a matter of minutes.
Glenda hangdogging and planking at the same time.
The thunderstorm produced some cool clouds.
A hangdog daze tail wag from Glenda.
Gwendolyn hangdogging on a worm rug.
Sunset lights up Resa’s tree.
Glenda: “What’s your problem Paparazzo?”
Not a good mix it.
Good colors, anyway.
The painter broke through the hangdog daze pallor of gray overcast skies at sunset.
Glenda: “What’s up with you going back and forth to look at the sky? Enough already. You’re bothering me boy!”
Click on the galleries to see the photos enlarged in slide shows.
I was going to buy a ultra-wide-angle lens for my Fuji XE-1 that I used to use as a carry camera. But the 10-24mm zoom lens is quite large, which makes it not as desirable to carry when I’m also carrying the Bazooka on a 7D Mark II body, and the 70-200mm zoom lens a 5Ds body. I have been using my iPhone XE for all street photography and wide-angle photos, stitching together panoramas for ultra-wide-angle shots. I finally decided that since an iPhone 12 Mini was the same price as a Fuji 10-24mm lens, I might as well upgrade my iPhone to the iPhone 12 Mini. The 12 Mini is the same form factor as the old iPhone 5, which is my favorite style of iPhone case, and the camera has wide-angle and super-wide-angle. The iPhone 12 Pro has telephoto, also, but I have the Bazooka and the iPhone 12 is bigger than I like.
What’s really nice with the iPhone 12 Mini is the “Portrait” setting works for any abject or critter as you can see in the photos of the kitties and the America Rose above. The “Portrait” setting on my iPhone SE only worked on human faces. When I tried using it on the cats, or anything else, it said “No faces recognized” and would not take a photo. I’m really happy with the camera on the iPhone 12 Mini.
Not a cloud in the sky at sunset. The ultra-wide-angle setting is 120º field of view.
Tangle Heart Tree under a clear blue sky in the early morning light. Sandias and Rio Grande in the early morning light (iPhone SE). The moon at sunset shot with the Bazooka 400mm lens.
All photos below were shot with the Bazooka 400mm lens on a Canon 7D Mark II body.
For the birds.
Snowy Egret in the clear water ditch.
Cormorant flyby
Tiny butterfly.
Mama Owl, Sleepy, Mona Lisa and Major Tom Peepers. Mama, Mona Lisa and Major Tom were in a tree between the irrigation ditch and the clear water ditch. Sleepy was still in the tree with the nest. I think he will probably fly over to the tree with the other owls tonight.
Tiffany’s Tree, Gabriela’s Tree, Gigi’s Tree, Teagan’s Trees behind Gigi’s Tree, Susan’s Tree, Lavinia’s, Marina’s and Dale’s trees are blending in and Resa’s Tree on the Right.
Spunk relaxing in on the deck rail this afternoon.
Two-Stepping To Nowhere
Music: Ron Blood & Joel Lewis. Arrangement: Joel Lewis. Rhythm Guitar: Joel Lewis. 2nd Guitar: Timothy Price. Bass: Timothy Price. Drums: Mark Simma.
Spunk: “NOOooooo! Not that stupid country song!!!”
Two-Stepping To Nowhere is a collaboration between Ron Blood, Joel Lewis, Mark Simma, and I. Ron sent Joel tracks with a bass line and Mark Simma’s drum track. Joel wanted to make a country song, so he slowed it down, which messed up the bass line, so he took out the bass. He recorded the rhythm tracks with the drum tracks playing a semi-hollow body Tele, if I remember correctly, and sent the song to Ron and me. I listened to the song, lyrics popped into my head, I wrote them down, went into the studio, added a vocal track, and sent the song with vocals back to Joel and Ron a couple of hours after Joel had sent the rhythm guitar and drum tracks. Later I added the twangy 2nd guitar playing my Black Tele, and a new bass line. It’s a really silly song, as you can see by Spunk’s reaction above. But it’s fun and funny. The lyrics are at the bottom of the post if you want to follow along.
Spunk taking over my lunch back before I got it packed this morning.
Spunk: “And YOU thing cat herding is really tough!”
Spunk: “Oh Gwedolyn! Did you really need to break wind?”
Silver planning his attack for after I turn out the lights.
A little before sunset tonight.
Two-Stepping To Nowhere Music: Ron Blood & Joel Lewis Arrangement: Joel Lewis Rhythm Guitar: Joel Lewis 2nd Guitar: Timothy Price Bass: Timothy Price Drums: Mark Simma
I barfed on my cat today He was pissed. It’s always the other way I dragged myself out of bed Stepped on cats trying to get them all fed The life of a cat herder is really tough No one ever seems to get enough
Chorus It’s like trying to glide Across the dance floor When all you do is a slide Two-Steppin’ to nowhere
I got myself made up and dandy Going to go dancing and find some candy A lovely chica got me out on the floor She looked real nice she knew the score But it was just my dumb luck I drove my car, I had left my viagra in the pickup truck
Chorus It’s like trying to glide Across the dance floor When all you do is a slide Two-Steppin’ to nowhere
Out in the truck to do some shoppin’ The County station was down, I had to listen to a dude named Chopin It’s hard on a fella and his imaging When the country chicas could hear The wussy music he was listening to
Chorus It’s like trying to glide Across the dance floor When all you do is a slide Two-Steppin’ to nowhere
I barfed on my cat today He was pissed. It’s always the other way I dragged myself out of bed Stepped on cats trying to get them all fed The life of a cat herder is really tough No one ever seems No one ever seems No one ever seems to get enough
Kitten Party Lyrics by Timothy Price, Music by Rick Nelson
Since I worked for 10.5 hours moving stuff, building shelves and desks, and then another hour testing and troubleshooting the new VPN, I’m posting another parody. Lyrics are below the photo of a kitten party.
The kittens partying with Sasha.
Kitten Party
Lyrics by Timothy Price
Music by Rick Nelson
I went to a Kitten party to see my old cool cats
A chance to purr, meow and spray and chase some rats
When I got to the kitten party the black cats looked the same
Jumping and bouncing all around they were really quite insane
The kittens are uptight now, they’re rolling all around
You see, the old cats they growl and hiss, so the kittens want a kiss
Tomcats came from miles around, the kittens were in heat
Oh no there’s a bobcat, who we don’t want to meet
The kittens ran all over, pouncing on their treats
Taxidermied mice with silly eyes looking like mousie freaks
The kittens are uptight now, they’re energy abounds
You see, the old cats want pay to play because the kittens they are strays
Kittens-meow-meow-meow, Kittens-meow-meow-meow
The kittens have some odd times, but they don’t really care
They attack one another, with tactics that seem unfair
Tried making up a kitty haiku, seven, five, and three
They knocked the syllables out like Spunk, quite hilariously
The kittens are uptight now, they’re jumping up and down
You see, the old cats they don’t want to see because the kittens won’t let them be
Someone opened up the side door and in stepped Bucky cat
Followed by Garfield, Odie, Satchel Pooch, and a great big spat!
If you’re going to a kitten party, you will get all scratched up
You think you’ll make it out alive, all I have to say is good luck
The kittens are uptight now, they pounce in one bound
You see, the old cats all they do is frown, and slap the kittens around
I presented my paper Quinientos años de lágrimas: The persistence of La Llorona — 16th Century to Present at The 52nd Annual Convention of the Northeast Modern Language Association this afternoon. The convention was scheduled to be held in Philadelphia, PA, but like so many things in our world of covid cooties, the organizers decided it was best to do a virtual conference. That was a wise decision, but it certainly changes the dynamics of a conference. I thought it was fitting to add the above parody I posted last year.
The last warning sliver moon in March.Sasha: “Do you like my La Llorona eyes?”
Marble: “No Sasha! This is how you make La Lorona eyes!”
Neither of you has it right. You need to be crying. Sasha & Marble: “Cats don’t cry! Stupid La Llorona!”
Silver: “La Llorona? Meh!”
Spunk: “No stinking La Llorona will get to me behind these bars!”
Glenda: “What’s that you say?”
“La la la La Llorona?”
Loki: “I’m not impressed!”
“Talk to the paws and claws La Llorona!”
Gwendolyn: “Yeah! Talk to the paws!”
Daddy Owl: “I don’t see no stinking La Llorona! What’s that you say? La Llorona can shapeshift into an owl? Ha ha ho ho hoo who. That’s a Hoot!”
Off Center & Not Even 