No internet since Tuesday morning. Our computer had a breakdown. But I am back, and it works now… just very slowly. So it is time to tell you what I have been up to.
I was in the Bay Area for my mom’s 90th birthday party! And we had a huge family reunion. And Jessica was in charge of the party, and it was awesome and beautiful.
And we saw Willie… and his parents… and because big Johnny works at the coolest job ever… until Disney shuts it down later this month… we got to eat lunch with this guy…
Who liked me so much he gave me a scalp massage. So get ready for at least a week of pictures and stories.
Pouring My Art Out 
Grab a free registry cleaner from Auslogics and clean up the clutter in your computer, you will be amazed how much crap there is in there… Google Auslogics Free Registry Cleaner, you won’t be disappointed I have one on bot of my computers and it works a treat 🙂 Let the force be with you Luke Sywalker 🙂 lol
Andro
I will pass that on to the higher levels.
Yes and then grab one 🙂 lol
Andro
ok
🙂 🙄
Andro
That is sort of freaky.
Yes I need to find some more of those 🙂 lol
Andro
Yes you do.
🙄 🙄 🙄 🙂
Andro
wow
Man, I was worried about you! A few days without your comments on my blog and I start to assume you’ve died. The blogosphere would be a much less exciting place without you…
Thank you.
I am so sorry you are home without Darth Vader. Wait…you don’t have Darth Vader, do you?
I have him in my memories.
In your grasp would be so much better.
Ha.
You…..are we keeping this PG rated or no…
I try to. It isn’t always easy.
Very, very happy for you. I once did a shoot at a museum that had a Star Wars exhibit and I got to work with one of the original Yoda figures. Like anythihg in the movies, there are numerous duplicates of critical props and wardrobe items. You don’t want to shut the shoot down because Yoda’s ear fell off.
Umm…now I don’t want to burst your bubble or anything…but there’s like only one Yoda…and I’d thank you not to spread that kind of hurtful gossip again…I am of tender age.
He lives with Santa… it’s all good…
Thank Superman for that!
yeah
On going back just now and checking the footage we shot, I did notice a very big picture poster stating that was the AUTHENTIC and ONLY Yoda in existence in the known universe and that bit of provenance was signed by George Lucas and Luke Skywalker who were in the photo with Yoda. My mistake. I’m old and my mind is going. I really try to keep things straight but you know how it is: “Try Not. Do or do not. There is no try.” I stand corrected. Oh, the shame of it.
You’re obviously not that senile, as you avoided the obvious trap of writing Mark Hamill instead of Luke Skywalker! Well done you.
Mark who? I don’t remember seeing anyone of that name. You are mistaken. He is not the droid you are looking for. You can go about your business.
Mark who? I don’t remember seeing anyone of that name. I am mistaken. He is not the droid I am looking for. I can go about my business.
I don’t need to see your identification. Move along.
Dammit where’s my bloody iden- oh, why thank you.
Just go to the bar with the happy space disco music.
Home of the low bar as usual, I suppose.
That is their signature drink.
Hard to go for the high bar from your knees.
It is better to die on your feet than to drink on your knees!
Or any other part…
If you can keep a secret Seed, I have more to tell. Working on it as we speak. Having to go back and research the facts and check with my sources. Red plays a big part through a continuing theme in story. You can’t even tell Art, okay?
???
How about a little privacy here, Mr Buttinsky. You don’t even have the organized team sport gene so this won’t interest you, Nosey Rosey. Did Seed already tip you like I told him not to?
If I knew what you were talking about, I would know if he did or not… maybe…
Why would you even expect to “knew” what I was talking about when I specifically asked Seed not to let you in on it. If you are exclued, why should you expect to know? What are you doing eavesdropping on this blog in the first place? To paraphrase Yogi Bera, “include you out.” I can’t be bothered with this. I have to go work on that comment I will post here for Seed that you won’t know about. So there. To quote BTMOA, Pft. 😛
To quote me… sigh.
I was having lunch recently at with someone I won’t identify at a location I am not free to disclose. He showed up wearing an over-sized forest-camo boonie that shaded his green eyes, matched his verdant skin tones and hid the point of his elfish ears. He hasn’t changed much over the years since I first met him in Cincinnati at a museum. We talked about a lot of things and I brought up our first meeting. It was not his first time here he said, but this was a different place millennia ago. It was bluer and greener then.
While in Cincinnati, he used to go to Reds games, didn’t care much for the Bengals. He felt baseball was more cerebral, especially the pitching and hitting. He felt it was all about the minds of two men using mental force and physical control to intimidate and overcome. Fielding to him was more reactionary. He became very fond of the Reds and subsequently almost anything that had to do with red: the red hats, red jackets, red hots, the Coke logo and a particular player I will identity simply as Pedro Rojo. He liked Coke and its red logo so much, everyone on the team started calling him Soda. Soda used to hang with Pedro a lot at Jeff Ruby’s. Soda was partial to the restaurant because of the ruby red connotation in the name and the superb blood-red rare steaks. Being unconstrained by all things temporal and spatial, Soda had seen a lot of other teams and games, past and future and was mentioning some of the winners and losers of key games in the future. Unfortunately, Pedro misused this information to line his pockets by betting on the outcome of his team’s games. At that point, Soda became very disenchanted with the Cincinnati Reds specifically and returned home.
He returned the second millennium and took up digs in Boston where he became a Red Sox fan. He always pulled for the underdog. He took a special liking to an aging player there and began coaching him. Through his knowledge of the future, Soda knew Tim; first name only, was a progenitor to a certain “knight” from a later time and had special capabilities that could be developed. Using a particular technique, Tim was coached by Soda to control the spatial trajectory and rotation of a certain 5 ounce, leather-covered sphere with 108 “red” stitches. There is much made of the grip on the ball, the way it’s thrown and the stitches and the forces of physics and aerodynamics. This is true for most other pitchers, but not T.W. Only a select few are aware of the fact that Tim was calling into play a very different “force” to cause the ball to exhibit a trajectory that seemed erratic but was very much under his control. This was around 2004 if I remember Soda correctly, and ended an 86 year drought for the Sox. The rest is history.
I am telling you this in the strictest confidence. Please do not mention this to Art or anyone else. It will be our little secret. And yes, he was and is the one and only “Soda.”
If I had the ‘organized sports’ gene, I bet I could figure out who you are talking about.
I assume you are talking about Pedro Rojo and Tim (TW). You surely aren’t talking about my source in the boonie hat are you? You do know who that is don’t you?
I am as clueless as a newborn babe.
This goes back to the Aug 9, 2013 comment and subsequent conversation with Seed about Yoda at the Cincinnati Museum a few years back. I back-pedaled on a remark about copies of Yoda if you remember.
Userdand: …I got to work with one of the original Yoda figures. Like anything in the movies, there are numerous duplicates of critical props and wardrobe items…
Seed: …Umm…now I don’t want to burst your bubble or anything…but there’s like only one Yoda…and I’d thank you not to spread that kind of hurtful gossip again…
You: …He lives with Santa… it’s all good…
Userdand: …On going back just now and checking the footage we shot, I did notice a very big picture poster stating that was the AUTHENTIC and ONLY Yoda in existence in the known universe and that bit of provenance was signed by George Lucas and Luke Skywalker who were in the photo with Yoda…
Aug 12 5:20PM
Userdand: …If you can keep a secret Seed, I have more to tell. Working on it as we speak. Having to go back and research the facts and check with my sources. Red plays a big part through a continuing theme in story. You can’t even tell Art, okay?
This whole elaborate “true” story is about me “meeting” Yoda (Soda) at the Cincinnati Museum and then much later in time. He is telling me about his fascination with the Cincinnati Reds and his meeting and hanging out with Pete Rose (Pedro Rojo) who was kicked out of baseball and he Hall of Fame for betting on Red’s games. Soda later went to the Boston and the “Red-“sox in 2004 and coached knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (Tim, TW) on ball control using the force and they subsequently won the World Series after and 86 year dry spell.
I am not a big ball fan. Saw a 60 Minutes piece on a knuckleballer recently and about how the pitch was hard to hit because of its erratic trajectory. Was out mowing the grass days later and my subconscious let the seeds of this tale flood out. It was only about the Sox winning the World Series initially but then saw the Cincy connection and the Reds and Pete Rose and time travel revealing the future for Pete which was really the past for Yoda. Why Coke and Soda? Because I got tired of typing my friend, source, or acquaintance and had to come up with a word that sounded like Yoda. Coda and music didn’t work with the rest. “S” was the only letter left that made a word with “oda.” The red Coke logo was just the cherry on the sound-alike icing.
Thus endeth the lesson of how it was done and how off-the-wall my mind can be at times. I remember years ago we changed a yield sign in the subdivision to a stop sign because nobody was yielding causing a lot of sudden braking to avoid collisions. They put a stop warning sign in the easement of a house about 150’ ahead of the stop. The guy in the house told me he didn’t like it in his front yard and took it down one night and put it in his basement. As secretary/treasurer of the neighborhood association, I mentioned the missing sign in the meeting minutes. I wrote it must have disappeared into a subterranean (basement) parallel (to the street) universe. The neighbor I ribbed probably didn’t get it either…or the rest of 38 households. It’s a cross I choose to proudly bear.
I think I got all that.
Aw….so worth the wait. Happy belated birthday to your mom.
Thank you. It was a crazy week.
That’s it? That’s IT????
Really? REALLY????
No… there will be at least a week of pictures… but I am not supposed to tell people when I am posting from out of town.
You mean you are keeping secret you are out of town?
OR you are posting pictures that are from out of town?
OR towns are posting pictures secretly?
OR you are not telling secrets?
You can tell me…I’ll keep it a secret….
Perhaps he would like to come up front and share with the rest of he class.
My computer is taking forever to send each comment.
If using Internet Explorer, go to Firefox if you have it loaded. Don’t come back and say you don’t know how to download Firefox. Sigh!
I have no idea what that means…
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I know.
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Ha
I was gone, but now I am back, but my computer didn’t work, so I need to catch up, with pictures I took out of town.
My mental appetite for seeing Episode VII just increased markedly. Yum yum yum.
We were inside the magic palace… Lucasland…
I hate you. I also love you man. Tell me everything. Absolutely everything.
I will get to it…
Also, mail me a shred of a plaid shirt – any piece will do.
We thought for a minute we were actually going to meet Mr. Lukas… because of a the smell of popcorn…
We were inside Lucasland…
That. Is flippin cool.
Wait till you hear the whole story… but birthday party first.
Have some cake for me. Looking forward to the whole story.
No… it’s over… I mean the story of the party first…
Any story will do. 11 pm and still at work… does not make for happy Trent.
I will start tomorrow.
Sigh (as you would say). Peace brother.
It has been a long week. Sorry.
Long, but weak. The ravages of age. Try the little blue pill.
Which one is that, and what does it do?
As to the pill and what it does, you remember Walter Lantz and that cartoon bird character by the name of Woody Woodpecker. Well, metaphorically speaking……..
Give me a break. OH, you just did. A creative opportunity. Hope I didn’t waste it.
Make wood… not war…
No apologies required. All good.
Thanks.
Tell him Trent. Tomorrow is now in your time zone.
I am hoping the computer speeds up after a night of sleep.
Going with Firefox as my browser made all the difference when I had that same issue. I think it is an Internet Explorer glitch. I’ll bet if I restored before some MS IE updates I could get rid of the problem. IE8 and XPSP3 don’t get along all that well it seems. Yeah, I know.” No comprende.”
Are you one of the little robots WordPress uses to annoy me???
Naw. I just go hung in a tech speak phase locked loop for a moment.
Try the red pill.
Did you say you turned 90?
Don’t be cruel.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
put you’re teeth in it might help you to answer
Feisty tonight aren’t we?
moi
Vous!
que?
Again with the coy. Pigtails with bows and Maryjanes with lace top socks and toes pointed in.
Seen it all before.
I will put my teeth in you…
This won’t be good…..the downward spiral accelerates. When you wonder later where the train jumped the tracks, this was the place..
It had to be someplace.
snake took care of that for you..lol
Oh… yeah…
So what does Mr Vader eat? I have heard some say that it’s unevenly toasted toast with extra butter on the DARK SIDE…I’ve heard others say crumpets; please advise.
for some reason now i want toast..
Do you need the recipe?
yes
It may be the fact that I mentioned toast in my above comment…?
She is easily manipulated…
it’s very possible, i forgot i was hungry for it and now you mention it again..
…is that good? do you need food before you reach the ‘swimming in half an hour’ deadline? have I reminded you that you’re out of bread?
yes
…I don’t understand the question.
Pavlov called… he wants you back at the lab…
Just keep ringing her bell. Keep a towel handy though. Drippy sloppy.
Ha.
on my way!
I thought you would ask who Pavlov was… ha!
i almost said and i know who he is…ha! i do btw!
“i almost said and i know who he is…ha! i do btw!”
Do what?. “You remind me of the man.” “What man?” “The man with the power.” “What power?” “The power of hoodoo.” “Who-do?” “You do.” “Do what?” “Remind me of the man.” “What man?” ad infinitum. A little comic relief. Just what this sight needs more of?
Hey now… I can’t get no comic relief…
Cary Grant and Shirley Temple from The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, 1947.
I like Shirley Temple…
I couldn’t be more proud.
awww shucks..
ha
That Russian dancer fellow who defected? Or is it that perfume? I forget. I’m probably barking up the wrong tree.
I just want to salivate…
Ding Ding Ding
Ha
He eats only dark chocolate, blackened salmon and Thai food…
Well there’s a balanced diet if ever I’ve read one…it’s probably something other than a dietary cause that gives rise to his mood swings then.
He just had a selfish jerk phase… and got melted in lava…
Well he’s looking remarkably good for it.
It is all fresh skin.
YAY!!!!!!!!!! I win! I cannot wait for the pictures. You look so happy getting the Darth Vader massage.
I reckon a little bit of wee definitely came out…and ran down the back of Art’s neck.
sigh… and it tickled too.
But did it reach the ground before it cessated at its origin?
Hard to tell.
But was it hard to walk.
Definitely not hardly. All rise. Here come da judge.
Order in the court!
Wonderful description! Lovely to hear from you.
HA!
I always like to announce my return with something classy.
You are all about the classy.
Do you know what you’re asking for?? lol
Not usually.
He has very forceful fingers… ha!!!